Inspire Advisors LLC Has $1.69 Million Stake in Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH)

Inspire Advisors LLC decreased its stake in Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) by 11.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,510 shares during the quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in Black Hills were worth $1,688,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in Black Hills by 108.0% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 101,774 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,557,000 after purchasing an additional 52,837 shares during the last quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA boosted its holdings in Black Hills by 5.6% during the second quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA now owns 170,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,253,000 after purchasing an additional 9,048 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in Black Hills by 39.7% during the first quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 483,120 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,378,000 after purchasing an additional 137,356 shares during the last quarter. Lesa Sroufe & Co acquired a new position in Black Hills during the first quarter worth $2,351,000. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in Black Hills by 161.5% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 54,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,958,000 after acquiring an additional 33,600 shares during the last quarter. 86.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on BKH. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Black Hills from $54.00 to $63.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Black Hills presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $58.00.

Black Hills Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE BKH traded up $0.07 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $61.92. 41,961 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 461,321. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $56.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.20, a P/E/G ratio of 4.19 and a beta of 0.69. Black Hills Co. has a twelve month low of $47.49 and a twelve month high of $62.20.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by $0.04. Black Hills had a net margin of 12.96% and a return on equity of 8.21%. The business had revenue of $402.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $498.00 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.35 earnings per share. Black Hills’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Black Hills Co. will post 3.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Black Hills Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 19th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 19th. Black Hills’s dividend payout ratio is 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.