Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) Shares Sold by Balyasny Asset Management L.P.

Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lowered its position in shares of Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH - Free Report) by 33.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,075 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 26,837 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. owned about 0.08% of Black Hills worth $3,164,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in BKH. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake 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 valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP grew its stake in Black Hills by 1,159.7% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 781 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 719 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on BKH shares. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Black Hills in a research note on Tuesday. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $68.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank cut their target price on Black Hills from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 7th.

Black Hills Stock Down 0.3%

BKH traded down $0.17 on Friday, hitting $58.50. The company had a trading volume of 437,993 shares, compared to its average volume of 451,269. Black Hills Co. has a 12-month low of $51.66 and a 12-month high of $65.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.97. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $59.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.85.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.92 by ($0.05). Black Hills had a return on equity of 7.82% and a net margin of 12.84%. The business had revenue of $805.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $729.73 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.87 EPS. Black Hills's revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Black Hills Co. will post 4.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Black Hills Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.676 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.62%. Black Hills's payout ratio is 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.