Marshall Investment Management LLC Invests $54,000 in Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH)

Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 881 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $54,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 181.5% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 473 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Black Hills by 373.2% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 418 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Black Hills by 84.9% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 577 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of Black Hills by 83.3% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 625 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 284 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Black Hills during the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. 86.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Black Hills Stock Up 1.4 %

Black Hills stock opened at $59.65 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $58.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $4.27 billion, a PE ratio of 15.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.73. Black Hills Co. has a 1-year low of $50.72 and a 1-year high of $65.59.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by $0.17. Black Hills had a return on equity of 7.82% and a net margin of 12.84%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Black Hills Co. will post 4.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Black Hills Increases Dividend

The company 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 represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.53%. This is an increase from Black Hills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Black Hills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 68.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.