Zimmer Partners LP Sells 104,591 Shares of Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH)

Zimmer Partners LP cut its stake in shares of Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH - Free Report) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,472,204 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 104,591 shares during the period. Black Hills accounts for about 1.5% of Zimmer Partners LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Zimmer Partners LP owned 2.06% of Black Hills worth $86,153,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of BKH. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Black Hills in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,113,000. WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Black Hills by 200.7% in the fourth quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 70,783 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,133,000 after buying an additional 47,244 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc lifted its position in shares of Black Hills by 43.1% in the fourth quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 8,407 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $492,000 after buying an additional 2,533 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Black Hills by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 20,862 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,221,000 after buying an additional 2,007 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in shares of Black Hills by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 65,199 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,815,000 after buying an additional 9,725 shares during the last quarter. 86.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Black Hills Stock Performance

NYSE:BKH traded up $0.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $58.07. 343,293 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 452,131. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.74. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $59.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.97. Black Hills Co. has a fifty-two week low of $51.66 and a fifty-two week high of $65.59.

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

Black Hills Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on BKH shares. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Black Hills from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 7th. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on Black Hills in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company.

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.