Geode Capital Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH)

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,698,234 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 35,077 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 2.37% of Black Hills worth $99,402,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BKH. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Black Hills by 66.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 432 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Black Hills by 182.8% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 461 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in shares of Black Hills by 181.5% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 473 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Black Hills by 373.2% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of Black Hills by 83.3% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 625 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. 86.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Black Hills Stock Up 2.3 %

NYSE:BKH opened at $58.04 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.96. Black Hills Co. has a fifty-two week low of $50.73 and a fifty-two week high of $65.59. The firm has a market cap of $4.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.17. Black Hills had a net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 7.82%. Analysts predict that Black Hills Co. will post 4.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Black Hills Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.676 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from Black Hills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.66%. Black Hills’s payout ratio is currently 68.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Black Hills from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th.

Black Hills Profile

Black Hills Corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates as an electric and natural gas utility company in the United States. The company operates in two segments: Electric Utilities and Gas Utilities. The Electric Utilities segment generates, transmits, and distributes electricity to approximately 222,000 electric utility customers in Colorado, Montana, South Dakota, and Wyoming; and owns and operates 1,394 megawatts of generation capacity and 9,106 miles of electric transmission and distribution lines.