Short Interest in Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) Rises By 19.9%

Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,930,000 shares, a growth of 19.9% from the February 13th total of 1,610,000 shares. Approximately 2.7% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 484,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 4.0 days.

Black Hills Stock Performance

Shares of Black Hills stock traded down $0.09 on Thursday, hitting $60.53. 74,026 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 418,038. Black Hills has a 1 year low of $50.73 and a 1 year high of $65.59. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $59.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $60.08. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $4.34 billion, a PE ratio of 15.43, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.68.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.17. Black Hills had a return on equity of 7.82% and a net margin of 12.84%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Black Hills will post 4.12 EPS for the current year.

Black Hills Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.676 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Black Hills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.47%. Black Hills’s payout ratio is 68.88%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Black Hills

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Black Hills by 22.7% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,831 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $400,000 after purchasing an additional 1,262 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Black Hills during the 4th quarter valued at $96,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Black Hills by 179.4% during the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 1,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 1,089 shares in the last quarter. CSS LLC IL boosted its holdings in Black Hills by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. CSS LLC IL now owns 10,808 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $632,000 after buying an additional 1,439 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Black Hills by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 127,341 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,452,000 after buying an additional 2,504 shares in the last quarter. 86.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Scotiabank lowered their target price on Black Hills from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th.

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.