Phocas Financial Corp. Sells 1,681 Shares of Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH)

Phocas Financial Corp. lowered its position in Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 180,954 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,681 shares during the period. Black Hills comprises approximately 1.4% of Phocas Financial Corp.’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Phocas Financial Corp. owned 0.25% of Black Hills worth $10,589,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 309.5% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 953,431 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $55,795,000 after acquiring an additional 720,628 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 203.6% in the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 507,986 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,727,000 after acquiring an additional 340,686 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 21.5% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,845,088 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $107,975,000 after acquiring an additional 326,959 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 113.6% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 463,459 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,122,000 after acquiring an additional 246,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Black Hills in the 4th quarter valued at about $10,490,000. Institutional investors own 86.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on BKH shares. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Black Hills in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $68.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank reduced their price objective 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.

Black Hills Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BKH opened at $58.07 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.21 billion, a PE ratio of 14.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $59.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.82. Black Hills Co. has a one year low of $51.66 and a one year 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.

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

Black Hills Dividend Announcement

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 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Black Hills’s payout ratio is 68.88%.

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.