Nomura Holdings Inc. Invests $555,000 in Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH)

Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 9,479 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $555,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,602,223 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $503,402,000 after buying an additional 37,790 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Black Hills by 21.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 1,845,088 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $107,975,000 after acquiring an additional 326,959 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Black Hills by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,698,234 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $99,402,000 after acquiring an additional 35,077 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,225,653 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $71,725,000 after purchasing an additional 39,369 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Black Hills by 3.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,037,622 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $60,721,000 after purchasing an additional 37,487 shares in the last quarter. 86.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Black Hills Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of BKH traded up $0.51 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $58.07. 343,293 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 452,131. The company has a market cap of $4.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Black Hills Co. has a 12-month low of $51.66 and a 12-month high of $65.59. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $59.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.84.

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

Black Hills Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $0.676 dividend. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Black Hills's dividend payout ratio is presently 68.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on shares of Black Hills from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Black Hills in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $68.00 target price for the company.

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.