Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) Shares Acquired by LPL Financial LLC

LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH – Get Rating) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 29,167 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,807 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Black Hills were worth $2,052,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Black Hills by 16.1% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,059,252 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $466,684,000 after purchasing an additional 838,590 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new position in Black Hills during the first quarter worth approximately $45,758,000. Macquarie Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 14.6% in the second quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 2,502,209 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $182,085,000 after acquiring an additional 318,024 shares during the period. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Black Hills in the 3rd quarter valued at $20,003,000. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 1,199.9% in the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 221,104 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,975,000 after acquiring an additional 204,095 shares during the period. 88.96% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Black Hills Stock Performance

Shares of BKH opened at $62.83 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Black Hills Co. has a 52-week low of $58.81 and a 52-week high of $79.78. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.60. The company has a market capitalization of $4.19 billion, a PE ratio of 16.11, a P/E/G ratio of 7.68 and a beta of 0.59.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH – Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 3rd. The utilities provider reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $921.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $754.70 million. Black Hills had a net margin of 9.62% and a return on equity of 8.33%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Black Hills Co. will post 3.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Black Hills Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 18th will be given a $0.625 dividend. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 17th. Black Hills’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.10%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on BKH shares. Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of Black Hills from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $81.00 to $68.00 in a research note on Friday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Black Hills from $71.00 to $65.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 9th. Scotiabank lowered Black Hills from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $67.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, February 8th. Bank of America downgraded Black Hills from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $79.00 to $60.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 8th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Black Hills in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.29.

Insider Transactions at Black Hills

In related news, CFO Richard Kinzley sold 10,033 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.49, for a total value of $657,061.17. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 36,576 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,395,362.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

About Black Hills

(Get Rating)

Black Hills Corp. is a diversified energy company. It operates through the following segments: Electric Utilities, Gas Utilities, and Corporate and Other. The Electric Utilities segment generates, transmits, and distributes electricity in Colorado, Montana, South Dakota, and Wyoming. The Gas Utilities segment provides natural gas in Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, and Wyoming.