AQR Capital Management LLC Sells 157,988 Shares of Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH)

AQR Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH - Free Report) by 15.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 873,975 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 157,988 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 1.22% of Black Hills worth $51,145,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of BKH. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Black Hills by 66.8% in 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. Barnett & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in Black Hills by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Barnett & Company Inc. now owns 7,500 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $439,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Black Hills by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,919 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $171,000 after buying an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Black Hills by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 6,716 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $393,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in shares of Black Hills by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 8,162 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $477,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Scotiabank reduced their price target on 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

Black Hills stock traded up $0.50 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $61.54. 189,697 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 450,758. The firm has a market cap of $4.44 billion, a PE ratio of 15.71, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.74. Black Hills Co. has a 52 week low of $51.66 and a 52 week high of $65.59. The company's fifty day moving average is $59.94 and its 200-day moving average is $59.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.97.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.37 earnings per share (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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Black Hills Co. will post 4.12 EPS for the current year.

Black Hills Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.676 dividend. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. 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.