Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Sells 25,487 Shares of Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH)

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH - Free Report) by 29.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 61,116 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 25,487 shares during the quarter. Clark Capital Management Group Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Black Hills worth $3,577,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 309.5% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 953,431 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $55,795,000 after buying an additional 720,628 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 203.6% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 507,986 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $29,727,000 after buying an additional 340,686 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 21.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,845,088 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $107,975,000 after buying an additional 326,959 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Black Hills in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $10,490,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Black Hills in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,413,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on BKH shares. 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 report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Black Hills in a report on Tuesday. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $68.00 price target for the company.

Black Hills Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BKH traded up $1.22 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $58.51. 134,002 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 450,644. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $59.74 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.24 billion, a PE ratio of 14.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.74. Black Hills Co. has a 12 month low of $51.66 and a 12 month high of $65.59. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.92 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $805.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $729.73 million. Black Hills had a net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 7.82%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.87 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Black Hills Co. will post 4.12 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.676 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.62%. 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.