The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 25,343 Shares of Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company cut its holdings in Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH - Free Report) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 400,393 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 25,343 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.56% of Black Hills worth $23,431,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Black Hills by 66.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 432 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Barnett & Company Inc. increased its holdings in Black Hills by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Barnett & Company Inc. now owns 7,500 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $439,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Black Hills by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,919 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $171,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in Black Hills by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 6,716 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $393,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in Black Hills by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 8,162 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $477,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. 86.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Black Hills Stock Performance

Shares of Black Hills stock traded up $0.50 on Tuesday, reaching $61.54. The stock had a trading volume of 337,322 shares, compared to its average volume of 451,151. The stock has a market cap of $4.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.74. Black Hills Co. has a fifty-two week low of $51.66 and a fifty-two week high of $65.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.97. The business's 50-day moving average price is $59.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $59.93.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.17. Black Hills had a return on equity of 7.82% and a net margin of 12.84%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Black Hills Co. will post 4.12 EPS for the current year.

Black Hills Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.676 per share. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Black Hills's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Black Hills from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 7th.

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.