Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) Shares Sold by Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC

Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC lowered its position in shares of Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) by 50.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 37,254 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 38,618 shares during the period. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC owned about 0.05% of Black Hills worth $2,180,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BKH. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Black Hills by 309.5% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 953,431 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $55,795,000 after purchasing an additional 720,628 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 203.6% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 507,986 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,727,000 after buying an additional 340,686 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 21.5% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,845,088 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $107,975,000 after buying an additional 326,959 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Black Hills in the 4th quarter valued at about $10,490,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Black Hills during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $8,413,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.71% of the company’s stock.

Black Hills Stock Down 0.6%

BKH stock opened at $58.49 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.22 billion, a PE ratio of 14.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a fifty day moving average of $59.87 and a 200-day moving average of $59.92. 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 Co. has a one year low of $51.66 and a one year high of $65.59.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.92 by ($0.05). Black Hills had a return on equity of 7.82% and a net margin of 12.84%. The firm had revenue of $805.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $729.73 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.87 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Black Hills Co. will post 4.12 EPS for the current year.

Black Hills Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.676 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Black Hills’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Scotiabank lowered their target price on Black Hills from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th.

Black Hills Company 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.