Riverwater Partners LLC Boosts Position in Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH)

Riverwater Partners LLC lifted its stake in Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH - Free Report) by 42.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 41,581 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 12,413 shares during the period. Black Hills makes up 1.2% of Riverwater Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Riverwater Partners LLC owned about 0.06% of Black Hills worth $2,433,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Black Hills by 182.8% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 461 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 298 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Black Hills by 181.5% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 473 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake 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 last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 83.3% in the fourth 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 period. 86.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Scotiabank reduced their price target 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 Stock Performance

NYSE:BKH traded down $0.51 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $57.48. The stock had a trading volume of 200,549 shares, compared to its average volume of 456,076. The stock has a market cap of $4.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.64. 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 12-month low of $50.73 and a 12-month high of $65.59. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $59.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.96.

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 return on equity of 7.82% and a net margin of 12.84%. On average, equities analysts expect that Black Hills Co. will post 4.12 EPS for the current year.

Black Hills Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 is a positive change from Black Hills's previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Black Hills's payout ratio is presently 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.