Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) Shares Purchased by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH - Free Report) by 3.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,037,622 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 37,487 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 1.45% of Black Hills worth $60,721,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake 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 in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings 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 period. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 418 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Black Hills by 83.3% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 625 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. 86.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Black Hills from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th.

Black Hills Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:BKH traded up $0.33 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $61.83. 474,662 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 450,950. Black Hills Co. has a twelve month low of $51.66 and a twelve month high of $65.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The business has a 50-day moving average of $59.97 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.95. The company has a market capitalization of $4.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.77, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.74.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.81 by $0.06. Black Hills had a net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 7.82%. Black Hills's revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.87 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.676 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.37%. Black Hills's payout ratio is 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.