Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) Shares Sold by Ameriprise Financial Inc.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. trimmed its position in Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) by 63.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 142,717 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 245,389 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.20% of Black Hills worth $8,352,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Black Hills in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $68.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank cut 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 note on Friday, February 7th.

Black Hills Stock Up 0.6%

BKH stock opened at $59.27 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.30 billion, a PE ratio of 15.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.97. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $59.67 and its 200 day moving average is $59.86. Black Hills Co. has a one year low of $51.66 and a one year high of $65.59.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.92 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $805.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $729.73 million. Black Hills had a net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 7.82%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.87 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Black Hills Co. will post 4.12 EPS for the current year.

Black Hills Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.676 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.56%. Black Hills’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.88%.

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.