Black Hills Corporation $BKH Stake Increased by Paradiem LLC

Paradiem LLC lifted its stake in shares of Black Hills Corporation (NYSE:BKH) by 858.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 234,833 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 210,333 shares during the period. Black Hills makes up 3.4% of Paradiem LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Paradiem LLC owned about 0.32% of Black Hills worth $14,463,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in Black Hills by 37.8% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 9,068 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $509,000 after buying an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Black Hills by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $410,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Black Hills by 13.6% in the second quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,206 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $124,000 after buying an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First PREMIER Bank boosted its stake in Black Hills by 1.4% in the second quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 19,833 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,113,000 after buying an additional 273 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Black Hills

In other news, CFO Kimberly F. Nooney sold 14,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $1,025,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,447,704.70. This represents a 29.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.63% of the company’s stock.

Black Hills Stock Performance

Shares of BKH stock opened at $69.34 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.51, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.74. Black Hills Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $54.92 and a fifty-two week high of $74.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.91. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $69.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $62.37.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.45. Black Hills had a net margin of 12.54% and a return on equity of 7.86%. The company had revenue of $430.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $439.96 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.35 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Black Hills Corporation will post 4.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Black Hills Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 17th were paid a dividend of $0.676 per share. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 17th. Black Hills’s dividend payout ratio is 68.18%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Scotiabank raised shares of Black Hills from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $81.00 in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Black Hills in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Black Hills presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $71.00.

Black Hills Profile

Black Hills Corporation is a diversified energy company based in Rapid City, South Dakota, that provides electricity and natural gas distribution services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Through its regulated utility subsidiaries—Black Hills Power, Cheyenne Light & Power, and Black Hills Energy—the company delivers reliable energy across Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming.

In addition to its distribution operations, Black Hills owns and operates a generation portfolio that includes natural gas–fired plants, coal-fired units, hydroelectric facilities and wind projects.