Swiss National Bank Increases Holdings in Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH)

Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 137,279 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,600 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Black Hills were worth $8,034,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Black Hills by 66.8% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 432 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 182.8% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 461 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 181.5% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 473 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 373.2% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 83.3% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 625 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. 86.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Black Hills Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of BKH stock opened at $59.15 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $59.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $60.09. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Black Hills Co. has a 12-month low of $50.73 and a 12-month high of $65.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.68.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Black Hills Co. will post 4.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Black Hills Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.676 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.57%. This is a positive change from Black Hills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Black Hills’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Scotiabank reduced 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.

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.