Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Acquires 6,863 Shares of Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH - Free Report) by 462.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,348 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,863 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in Black Hills were worth $489,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 4.5% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 500,826 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $30,610,000 after buying an additional 21,697 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Black Hills in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,185,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Black Hills by 109.8% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 882,646 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $53,356,000 after purchasing an additional 461,894 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Black Hills by 16.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 408,877 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $24,991,000 after purchasing an additional 56,440 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Black Hills by 181.5% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 473 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. 86.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Black Hills Price Performance

Black Hills stock traded down $0.28 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $61.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 23,447 shares, compared to its average volume of 450,792. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $59.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.94. Black Hills Co. has a 52 week low of $51.66 and a 52 week high of $65.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market cap of $4.40 billion, a PE ratio of 15.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.74.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.17. Black Hills had a net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 7.82%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Black Hills Co. 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 Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $0.676 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.43%. Black Hills's dividend payout ratio is presently 68.88%.

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.