Victory Capital Management Inc. Raises Stock Position in Black Hills Corporation (NYSE:BKH)

Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Black Hills Corporation (NYSE:BKH - Free Report) by 18.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 652,003 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 100,421 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.90% of Black Hills worth $39,544,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BKH. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Black Hills during the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,413,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Black Hills by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 13,151 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $770,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank grew its position in Black Hills by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 137,279 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,034,000 after acquiring an additional 2,600 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp bought a new stake in Black Hills in the 4th quarter worth approximately $384,000. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Black Hills by 106.7% during the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 27,261 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,595,000 after buying an additional 14,072 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, 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 price objective for the company.

Black Hills Stock Performance

NYSE:BKH traded down $1.20 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $56.79. The company had a trading volume of 761,460 shares, compared to its average volume of 479,860. Black Hills Corporation has a 52 week low of $54.92 and a 52 week high of $65.59. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $57.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The firm has a market cap of $4.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.49, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.70.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.87 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $805.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $729.73 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.87 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Black Hills Corporation will post 4.12 EPS for the current year.

Black Hills Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $0.676 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.76%. Black Hills's payout ratio is 68.88%.

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.