Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) Shares Purchased by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 698,890 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,102 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.98% of Black Hills worth $40,899,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BKH. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Black Hills by 66.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 432 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Black Hills by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,528 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $206,000 after buying an additional 197 shares during the period. Barnett & Company Inc. raised its position in shares of Black Hills by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Barnett & Company Inc. now owns 7,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $439,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Black Hills by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,919 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $171,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Black Hills by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 6,716 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $393,000 after buying an additional 263 shares during the period. 86.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Black Hills Stock Up 2.4%

Black Hills stock opened at $58.68 on Friday. Black Hills Co. has a fifty-two week low of $51.66 and a fifty-two week high of $65.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.97. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $59.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.86. The company has a market capitalization of $4.25 billion, a PE ratio of 14.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.74.

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

Black Hills Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.676 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Black Hills’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on BKH shares. Scotiabank reduced their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Black Hills in a research report on Tuesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock.

About Black Hills

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.