Acadian Asset Management LLC Raises Stake in Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH)

Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) by 0.9% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 26,694 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 249 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Black Hills were worth $1,451,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in BKH. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in Black Hills in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Black Hills in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in Black Hills in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Riverview Trust Co bought a new position in Black Hills in the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Black Hills by 77.2% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 732 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.71% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on BKH. Mizuho upped their target price on Black Hills from $53.00 to $57.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 4th. Scotiabank boosted their price target 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Black Hills from $61.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $58.00.

Black Hills Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BKH opened at $60.55 on Monday. Black Hills Co. has a 1 year low of $46.43 and a 1 year high of $60.56. 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’s 50-day moving average is $58.06 and its 200 day moving average is $55.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.91 and a beta of 0.68.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.29 by $0.04. Black Hills had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 8.21%. The company had revenue of $402.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $498.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.35 earnings per share. Black Hills’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Black Hills Co. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Black Hills Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th were issued a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.29%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 19th. Black Hills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.04%.

Black Hills Company 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.