Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) Shares Purchased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH - Free Report) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 211,325 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,771 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.30% of Black Hills worth $12,367,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of BKH. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Black Hills by 181.5% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 473 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in Black Hills by 84.9% during 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. grew its holdings in Black Hills by 83.3% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 625 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Black Hills in the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Black Hills in the 3rd quarter valued at about $82,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.71% of the company's stock.

Black Hills Stock Performance

Black Hills stock traded up $0.58 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $61.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 242,198 shares, compared to its average volume of 469,546. The firm has a market cap of $4.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.79, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.73. Black Hills Co. has a twelve month low of $50.72 and a twelve month high of $65.59. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $58.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

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

Black Hills Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a $0.676 dividend. This is an increase from Black Hills's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.38%. Black Hills's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Scotiabank decreased their price target on Black Hills from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note 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.