Leeward Investments LLC MA Sells 11,803 Shares of Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH)

Leeward Investments LLC MA trimmed its stake in shares of Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) by 7.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 157,770 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 11,803 shares during the quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA owned 0.22% of Black Hills worth $9,233,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 373.2% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Black Hills by 84.9% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 577 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in shares of Black Hills by 83.3% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 625 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Black Hills in the third quarter worth approximately $45,000. 86.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Black Hills Stock Up 1.4 %

BKH stock opened at $59.65 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company’s 50 day moving average is $58.56 and its 200 day moving average is $59.76. The stock has a market cap of $4.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.73. Black Hills Co. has a 1-year low of $50.72 and a 1-year high of $65.59.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Black Hills Co. will post 4.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Black Hills Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.676 per share. This is a boost from Black Hills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Black Hills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Black Hills from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report 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.