Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) Shares Acquired by MetLife Investment Management LLC

MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) by 8.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 80,908 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,549 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC owned about 0.11% of Black Hills worth $4,735,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 66.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 432 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during 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 lifted its stake in Black Hills by 181.5% in the fourth 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. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 418 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of Black Hills by 83.3% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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 Down 0.1 %

Black Hills stock opened at $60.54 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $59.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.91. Black Hills Co. has a twelve month low of $51.66 and a twelve month high of $65.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.44, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.64. 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 (NYSE:BKH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.17. Black Hills had a return on equity of 7.82% and a net margin of 12.84%. As a group, research analysts expect that Black Hills Co. will post 4.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Black Hills Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.676 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.47%. Black Hills’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.88%.

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.