Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D trimmed its holdings in Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,474 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 347 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Black Hills were worth $1,959,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Black Hills by 181.5% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 473 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 84.9% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 577 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 83.3% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 625 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Black Hills in the third quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Point72 DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Black Hills during the third quarter worth about $82,000. 86.71% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Black Hills Price Performance

NYSE:BKH opened at $59.79 on Tuesday. Black Hills Co. has a 52 week low of $50.72 and a 52 week high of $65.59. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $58.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.80. The company has a market capitalization of $4.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.17. Black Hills had a net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 7.82%. Equities analysts expect that Black Hills Co. will post 4.12 EPS for the current year.

Black Hills Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.676 dividend. This is a positive change from Black Hills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Black Hills’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Scotiabank decreased their target price on shares of Black Hills from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th.

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.