Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) Stake Lessened by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) by 28.4% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 203,554 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 80,699 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Black Hills were worth $12,441,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Black Hills by 109.8% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 882,646 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,356,000 after buying an additional 461,894 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Black Hills in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,185,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,663,157 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $101,671,000 after acquiring an additional 33,853 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Black Hills by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 500,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,610,000 after acquiring an additional 21,697 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd lifted its stake in Black Hills by 82.0% during the third quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd now owns 22,228 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,359,000 after purchasing an additional 10,016 shares during the last quarter. 86.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Black Hills Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE:BKH opened at $58.55 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $61.07 and a 200-day moving average of $58.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.19 billion, a PE ratio of 15.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 0.71. Black Hills Co. has a 52 week low of $49.33 and a 52 week high of $65.59.

Black Hills Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Monday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $0.65 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.44%. Black Hills’s payout ratio is currently 69.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Black Hills from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.25.

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.