Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) Shares Sold by American International Group Inc.

American International Group Inc. decreased its position in Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 124,851 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,422 shares during the quarter. American International Group Inc. owned 0.18% of Black Hills worth $6,736,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Black Hills by 3.7% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,821,296 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $395,679,000 after acquiring an additional 279,987 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in Black Hills by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,251,722 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $175,430,000 after acquiring an additional 475,768 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Black Hills by 0.4% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 957,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,458,000 after acquiring an additional 3,925 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Black Hills by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 904,220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,783,000 after acquiring an additional 3,949 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Black Hills by 15.6% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 786,811 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,805,000 after acquiring an additional 106,464 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Black Hills

In related news, Director Rebecca B. Roberts sold 3,094 shares of Black Hills stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.84, for a total value of $169,674.96. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $436,307.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Black Hills Stock Performance

Shares of BKH opened at $52.88 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.61 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market cap of $3.65 billion, a PE ratio of 13.02 and a beta of 0.69. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $54.68 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.56. Black Hills Co. has a 12-month low of $46.43 and a 12-month high of $61.94.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.70 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $726.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $683.00 million. Black Hills had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 8.37%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 21.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.73 earnings per share.

Black Hills Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 17th were given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.92%. Black Hills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on BKH. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Black Hills from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Black Hills from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Black Hills from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Black Hills from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.60.

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.