Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Sells 17,544 Shares of Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC decreased its position in Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH - Free Report) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 244,396 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 17,544 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned 0.34% of Black Hills worth $14,302,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BKH. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Black Hills by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,602,223 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $503,402,000 after buying an additional 37,790 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 2.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,663,157 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $101,671,000 after purchasing an additional 33,853 shares during the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Black Hills in the third quarter valued at approximately $96,374,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Black Hills by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,225,653 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $71,725,000 after purchasing an additional 39,369 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Black Hills by 109.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 882,646 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $53,356,000 after purchasing an additional 461,894 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.71% of the company's stock.

Black Hills Stock Down 4.1 %

Shares of Black Hills stock traded down $2.50 on Friday, reaching $58.33. 618,782 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 452,902. Black Hills Co. has a one year low of $50.73 and a one year high of $65.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a 50-day moving average of $59.86 and a 200 day moving average of $60.09. The company has a market capitalization of $4.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.88, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.68.

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

Black Hills Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.676 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Black Hills's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Black Hills's payout ratio is 68.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.