Versor Investments LP Acquires 21,825 Shares of Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH)

Versor Investments LP boosted its position in Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH - Free Report) by 227.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,425 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 21,825 shares during the quarter. Versor Investments LP's holdings in Black Hills were worth $1,695,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BKH. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 678.4% during the 3rd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 685 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 597 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of Black Hills by 101.2% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 807 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 525.3% during the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,532 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 1,287 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in Black Hills by 564.3% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,046 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 1,738 shares during the period. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Black Hills in the third quarter worth $157,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.71% of the company's stock.

Black Hills Trading Down 0.9 %

BKH traded down $0.53 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $57.05. 523,852 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 469,778. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.05 and a beta of 0.64. Black Hills Co. has a 52 week low of $46.43 and a 52 week high of $66.43. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $53.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $52.69. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.87 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $726.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $683.00 million. Black Hills had a return on equity of 8.48% and a net margin of 12.92%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 21.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.73 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Black Hills Co. will post 3.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Black Hills Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th will be given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.56%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 16th. Black Hills's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.04%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on BKH. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Black Hills from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday. Scotiabank reduced their price target on Black Hills from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded Black Hills from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Black Hills from $61.00 to $57.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $54.80.

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.