John G Ullman & Associates Inc. Sells 83,375 Shares of Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH)

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. cut its position in Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) by 64.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 46,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 83,375 shares during the period. John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Black Hills were worth $2,529,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in Black Hills in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Black Hills by 87.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 562 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Black Hills by 60.6% during the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 652 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Black Hills by 678.4% during the 3rd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 685 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 597 shares during the period. Finally, Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Black Hills by 101.2% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 807 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 406 shares during the period. 86.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Black Hills Price Performance

Shares of Black Hills stock traded up $1.54 during trading on Friday, reaching $54.00. 525,532 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 549,745. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a current ratio of 0.70. Black Hills Co. has a 1-year low of $46.43 and a 1-year high of $66.85. The company has a market cap of $3.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.55 and a beta of 0.64. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $52.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.00.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.11. Black Hills had a return on equity of 8.09% and a net margin of 11.25%. The business had revenue of $591.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $863.67 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.11 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Black Hills Co. will post 3.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Black Hills Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 16th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.81%. This is an increase from Black Hills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 15th. Black Hills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.33%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Black Hills from $61.00 to $57.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Black Hills from $57.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Black Hills from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Black Hills presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.80.

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.