Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Purchases 3,262 Shares of Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) by 26.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,712 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,262 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Black Hills were worth $960,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in Black Hills by 108.0% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 101,774 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,557,000 after acquiring an additional 52,837 shares during the period. Leeward Investments LLC MA lifted its position in Black Hills by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA now owns 170,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,253,000 after acquiring an additional 9,048 shares during the period. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Black Hills by 39.7% in the 1st quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 483,120 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,378,000 after purchasing an additional 137,356 shares in the last quarter. Lesa Sroufe & Co purchased a new stake in shares of Black Hills in the first quarter worth $2,351,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 161.5% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 54,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,958,000 after acquiring an additional 33,600 shares in the last quarter. 86.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Black Hills Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BKH opened at $59.19 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.65, a P/E/G ratio of 4.19 and a beta of 0.69. Black Hills Co. has a 1-year low of $47.49 and a 1-year high of $62.20. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $57.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.04. Black Hills had a return on equity of 8.21% and a net margin of 12.96%. The company had revenue of $402.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $498.00 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.35 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Black Hills Co. will post 3.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Black Hills Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th will be given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.39%. Black Hills’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on BKH shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Black Hills from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Scotiabank upped their price objective on Black Hills from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $58.00.

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.