Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) Shares Sold by Kennedy Capital Management LLC

Kennedy Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) by 7.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 123,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 9,431 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC owned about 0.18% of Black Hills worth $6,721,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bayesian Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Black Hills by 37.0% during the first quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP now owns 7,034 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $384,000 after buying an additional 1,900 shares during the period. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Black Hills in the 1st quarter valued at $235,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in Black Hills in the 1st quarter valued at $83,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 15.2% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 44,777 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,445,000 after purchasing an additional 5,906 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DC Investments Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Black Hills during the first quarter worth $1,007,000. 86.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Transactions at Black Hills

In related news, Director Rebecca B. Roberts sold 3,094 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.84, for a total transaction of $169,674.96. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $436,307.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Black Hills Stock Down 0.1 %

BKH traded down $0.04 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $58.91. The company had a trading volume of 23,007 shares, compared to its average volume of 488,190. Black Hills Co. has a 1-year low of $46.43 and a 1-year high of $61.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $4.06 billion, a PE ratio of 14.52 and a beta of 0.69. The business has a 50-day moving average of $55.17 and a 200-day moving average of $53.85.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.70 by $0.17. Black Hills had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 8.37%. The company had revenue of $726.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $683.00 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.73 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 21.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Black Hills Co. will post 3.92 earnings per share for the current year.

Black Hills Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 19th. Black Hills’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.04%.

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.