Vestcor Inc Reduces Stock Position in Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH)

Vestcor Inc cut its stake in Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) by 11.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,357 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 721 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Black Hills were worth $313,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Black Hills by 66.8% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 432 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Black Hills by 182.8% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 461 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Black Hills by 181.5% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in Black Hills by 373.2% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 418 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased 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 during the period. 86.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Black Hills Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE BKH opened at $61.34 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $59.15 and a 200-day moving average of $60.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.65, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.68. 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 12 month low of $50.73 and a 12 month high of $65.59.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 expect that Black Hills Co. will post 4.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Black Hills Increases Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.41%. This is a positive change from Black Hills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Black Hills’s payout ratio is 68.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Scotiabank decreased 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 report on Friday, February 7th.

Black Hills 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.