Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Sells 9,795 Shares of Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lessened its stake in shares of Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH - Free Report) by 31.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 21,308 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 9,795 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc's holdings in Black Hills were worth $1,247,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 4.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 500,826 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $30,610,000 after buying an additional 21,697 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Black Hills by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 47,147 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,759,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Black Hills by 83.3% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 625 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Paradiem LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Black Hills in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,357,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Black Hills by 1,579.6% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 84,634 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,953,000 after purchasing an additional 79,595 shares during the last quarter. 86.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Black Hills Stock Performance

Shares of BKH stock traded up $0.34 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $59.27. The company's stock had a trading volume of 428,190 shares, compared to its average volume of 451,213. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company has a market cap of $4.30 billion, a PE ratio of 15.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a fifty day moving average of $59.67 and a 200-day moving average of $59.86. Black Hills Co. has a 52 week low of $51.66 and a 52 week high of $65.59.

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

Black Hills Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.676 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.56%. Black Hills's payout ratio is 68.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKH has been the subject of several recent research reports. Scotiabank decreased their price target on 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, May 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $68.00 price objective on the stock.

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.