Black Hills Corporation (NYSE:BKH) Shares Sold by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lessened its position in shares of Black Hills Corporation (NYSE:BKH - Free Report) by 1.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 824,179 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 13,715 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 1.14% of Black Hills worth $49,986,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its stake in shares of Black Hills by 16.8% in the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 15,308 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $928,000 after acquiring an additional 2,198 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Black Hills by 1.9% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 215,402 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $13,064,000 after buying an additional 4,077 shares in the last quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management raised its stake in shares of Black Hills by 44.8% in the first quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management now owns 73,829 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,478,000 after acquiring an additional 22,844 shares in the last quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY raised its stake in shares of Black Hills by 8.8% in the first quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 12,845 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $779,000 after acquiring an additional 1,040 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clear Creek Financial Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Black Hills by 37.9% in the first quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 4,730 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $287,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. 86.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Black Hills Price Performance

Black Hills stock traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $57.09. The stock had a trading volume of 34,506 shares, compared to its average volume of 474,453. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.56, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Black Hills Corporation has a 1-year low of $54.92 and a 1-year high of $65.59. The stock's fifty day moving average is $57.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.66.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.92 by ($0.05). Black Hills had a net margin of 12.67% and a return on equity of 7.83%. The company had revenue of $805.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $729.73 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.87 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 10.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Black Hills Corporation will post 4.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Black Hills Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a $0.676 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.74%. Black Hills's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Black Hills in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $68.00 price target 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.