Ieq Capital LLC Purchases New Stake in Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH)

Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 10,996 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $643,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 181.5% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 473 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 373.2% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 530 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 84.9% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 577 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 83.3% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 625 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Black Hills during the 3rd quarter worth $45,000. 86.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Scotiabank reduced their price target on Black Hills from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th.

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Black Hills Stock Performance

BKH stock traded up $0.82 during trading on Friday, reaching $61.20. 578,204 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 476,464. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Black Hills Co. has a 1-year low of $50.72 and a 1-year high of $65.59. The company's fifty day moving average price is $58.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.86. The firm has a market cap of $4.38 billion, a PE ratio of 15.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.73.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.17. Black Hills had a return on equity of 7.82% and a net margin of 12.84%. On average, research analysts expect that Black Hills Co. will post 4.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Black Hills Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.676 dividend. This is a positive change from Black Hills's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.42%. Black Hills's dividend 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.