Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Invests $96,000 in Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,632 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $96,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 173 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 298 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 418 shares during the period. Quarry LP lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 719 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Black Hills in the fourth quarter valued at $54,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.71% of the company’s stock.

Black Hills Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BKH opened at $57.14 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $59.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.57. Black Hills Co. has a 1-year low of $51.66 and a 1-year high of $65.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 prior year, the company posted $1.87 EPS. Black Hills’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Black Hills Co. will post 4.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Black Hills Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a dividend of $0.676 per share. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.73%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Black Hills’s payout ratio is presently 68.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKH has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Black Hills from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Black Hills in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $68.00 price objective on the stock.

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.