Federated Hermes Inc. Grows Position in Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH)

Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH - Free Report) by 404.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 61,709 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 49,486 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned 0.09% of Black Hills worth $3,611,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Black Hills by 66.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 432 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Barnett & Company Inc. increased its position in shares of Black Hills by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Barnett & Company Inc. now owns 7,500 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $439,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Black Hills by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,919 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $171,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Black Hills by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 6,716 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $393,000 after buying an additional 263 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in Black Hills by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 8,162 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. 86.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of 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.

Black Hills Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BKH traded up $0.49 during trading on Friday, reaching $60.52. The company had a trading volume of 492,012 shares, compared to its average volume of 457,893. 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 Co. has a twelve month low of $51.66 and a twelve month high of $65.59. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $59.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.36 billion, a PE ratio of 15.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.64.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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 paid a dividend of $0.676 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is a positive change from Black Hills's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Black Hills's dividend payout ratio is currently 68.88%.

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.