Natixis Advisors LLC Buys 1,332 Shares of Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH)

Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) by 8.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,559 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,332 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Black Hills were worth $955,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Black Hills in the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Black Hills in the first quarter worth $31,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Black Hills in the first quarter worth about $33,000. Riverview Trust Co purchased a new position in Black Hills in the first quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Black Hills by 77.2% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 732 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the period. 86.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Black Hills Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:BKH opened at $59.55 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $57.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.67 and a beta of 0.68. Black Hills Co. has a 1-year low of $46.43 and a 1-year high of $60.42.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $402.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $498.00 million. Black Hills had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 8.21%. Black Hills’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.35 EPS. Research analysts expect that Black Hills Co. will post 3.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Black Hills Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.37%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. Black Hills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.04%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on BKH shares. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of Black Hills from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Black Hills from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Black Hills from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $58.00.

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.