Ieq Capital LLC Buys Shares of 10,996 Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH)

Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new position in Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 10,996 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $643,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of BKH. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Black Hills by 181.5% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 473 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake 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 valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Black Hills by 84.9% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 577 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings 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 purchased a new position in Black Hills in the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. 86.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Black Hills Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE BKH opened at $59.75 on Wednesday. Black Hills Co. has a twelve month low of $50.72 and a twelve month high of $65.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.54 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.82. The firm has a market cap of $4.28 billion, a PE ratio of 15.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.73.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.37 earnings per share 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 expect that Black Hills Co. will post 4.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Black Hills Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Scotiabank lowered 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 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.