Meritage Portfolio Management Invests $3.29 Million in Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH)

Meritage Portfolio Management bought a new stake in shares of Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 61,034 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,293,000. Meritage Portfolio Management owned about 0.09% of Black Hills as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Black Hills by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,890 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $247,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its holdings in Black Hills by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 16,300 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $879,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Black Hills by 101.2% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 807 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 406 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its holdings in Black Hills by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 19,058 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $964,000 after buying an additional 442 shares during the period. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Black Hills by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 31,766 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,714,000 after buying an additional 465 shares during the period. 86.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Black Hills Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:BKH traded down $0.34 on Thursday, hitting $54.20. 360,657 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 542,924. Black Hills Co. has a 12 month low of $46.43 and a 12 month high of $66.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.83 and a beta of 0.64. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $52.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $52.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.56.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.11. Black Hills had a return on equity of 8.09% and a net margin of 11.25%. The firm had revenue of $591.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $863.67 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.11 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Black Hills Co. will post 3.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Black Hills Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.80%. Black Hills's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on Black Hills from $61.00 to $57.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 9th. Scotiabank decreased their price target on Black Hills from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Black Hills from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Black Hills has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $55.00.

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.