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

ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 698,890 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,102 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Black Hills were worth $40,899,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Black Hills by 66.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 432 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Black Hills by 182.8% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 461 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in Black Hills by 373.2% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Black Hills by 83.3% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 625 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its stake in Black Hills by 1,159.7% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 781 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 719 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.71% of the company’s stock.

Black Hills Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BKH opened at $58.68 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $4.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.97, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.74. Black Hills Co. has a 52 week low of $51.66 and a 52 week high of $65.59. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $59.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $59.86.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $729.73 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.87 earnings per share. Black Hills’s revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Black Hills Co. will post 4.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Black Hills Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Black Hills in a research note on Tuesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank decreased 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 note on Friday, February 7th.

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.