Meeder Asset Management Inc. Buys Shares of 67,665 Black Hills Corporation (NYSE:BKH)

Key Points

• Meeder Asset Management Inc. has made a new investment of approximately $4.10 million in Black Hills Corporation by acquiring 67,665 shares during the first quarter.
• Black Hills Corporation reported a Q1 earnings per share of $1.87, slightly missing the analyst expectations, but showed a revenue increase of 10.8% year-over-year.
• The company announced a dividend of $0.676 per share, which represents a 4.83% yield annually, with a payout ratio of 68.88%.

Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Black Hills Corporation (NYSE:BKH - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 67,665 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,104,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. owned 0.09% of Black Hills as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Black Hills by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 215,402 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $13,064,000 after purchasing an additional 4,077 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Black Hills by 15.9% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,918 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $480,000 after buying an additional 1,087 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Black Hills by 215.5% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,647 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $100,000 after buying an additional 1,125 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 59.2% during 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 period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Black Hills in the 4th quarter worth approximately $96,000. 86.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, BMO Capital Markets initiated 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 Stock Up 0.2%

BKH traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $57.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 279,510 shares, compared to its average volume of 511,899. The stock's 50-day moving average is $57.01 and its 200-day moving average is $58.65. Black Hills Corporation has a 1 year low of $54.92 and a 1 year high of $65.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.59, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.70. 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 data on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.38. Black Hills had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 12.68%. The company had revenue of $439.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $412.69 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.33 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Black Hills Corporation will post 4.12 EPS for the current year.

Black Hills Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.676 per share. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. Black Hills's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.01%.

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.