Black Hills Corporation $BKH Shares Acquired by Horizon Investments LLC

Key Points

• Horizon Investments LLC increased its stake in Black Hills by 74.3% in Q4 to 34,523 shares (about $2.40M), and overall institutional ownership is high at roughly 86.7% after multiple other funds boosted positions.
• Analysts are broadly positive with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $81.40, though individual notes range from sell to buy.
• Black Hills declared a quarterly dividend of $0.703 (annualized $2.81) for a yield near 3.8%; the ex-dividend date is May 15 and the payment date is June 1.

Horizon Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Black Hills Corporation (NYSE:BKH - Free Report) by 74.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,523 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 14,716 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC's holdings in Black Hills were worth $2,397,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in BKH. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Black Hills by 67.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 618,131 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $38,071,000 after buying an additional 249,640 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in Black Hills by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 736,014 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $45,331,000 after buying an additional 71,963 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Black Hills by 84.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,944 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $976,000 after buying an additional 7,314 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in Black Hills during the 3rd quarter worth $1,354,000. Finally, Greenland Capital Management LP grew its stake in Black Hills by 140.6% during the 3rd quarter. Greenland Capital Management LP now owns 29,573 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,821,000 after buying an additional 17,280 shares during the last quarter. 86.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on Black Hills from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Black Hills from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH assumed coverage on Black Hills in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $77.00 price objective for the company. Siebert Williams Shank upgraded Black Hills from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $79.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Black Hills in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Black Hills has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $81.40.

Black Hills Trading Down 1.5%

NYSE:BKH opened at $73.79 on Wednesday. Black Hills Corporation has a 1 year low of $55.49 and a 1 year high of $78.69. The stock has a market cap of $5.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.54, a PEG ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a fifty day moving average of $72.60 and a 200-day moving average of $71.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.04. Black Hills had a return on equity of 7.91% and a net margin of 12.62%.The company had revenue of $635.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $809.88 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.37 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Black Hills Corporation will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Black Hills Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.703 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $2.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. Black Hills's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.60%.

About Black Hills

Black Hills Corporation is a diversified energy company based in Rapid City, South Dakota, that provides electricity and natural gas distribution services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Through its regulated utility subsidiaries—Black Hills Power, Cheyenne Light & Power, and Black Hills Energy—the company delivers reliable energy across Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming.

In addition to its distribution operations, Black Hills owns and operates a generation portfolio that includes natural gas–fired plants, coal-fired units, hydroelectric facilities and wind projects.

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