Meritage Portfolio Management Buys 22,844 Shares of Black Hills Corporation (NYSE:BKH)

Meritage Portfolio Management grew its holdings in Black Hills Corporation (NYSE:BKH - Free Report) by 44.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 73,829 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 22,844 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management owned approximately 0.10% of Black Hills worth $4,478,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Black Hills by 66.8% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 432 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Black Hills by 182.8% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 461 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Black Hills by 59.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 605 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 1,159.7% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 781 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 719 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 238.0% in the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 845 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 595 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of Black Hills in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $68.00 target price for the company.

Black Hills Price Performance

Shares of BKH traded up $0.43 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $56.91. The stock had a trading volume of 262,841 shares, compared to its average volume of 467,505. Black Hills Corporation has a 12-month low of $53.22 and a 12-month high of $65.59. The company has a market capitalization of $4.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.70. The company's 50-day moving average is $58.07 and its 200 day moving average is $58.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH - Get Free Report) last posted 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). Black Hills had a return on equity of 7.83% and a net margin of 12.67%. The company had revenue of $805.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $729.73 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.87 earnings per share. Black Hills's revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Black Hills Corporation will post 4.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Black Hills Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were issued a dividend of $0.676 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.75%. Black Hills's dividend payout ratio is presently 68.88%.

Black Hills Company 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.