Meritage Portfolio Management Invests $3.29 Million in Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH)

Meritage Portfolio Management purchased a new stake in shares of Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 61,034 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,293,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Black Hills by 112.4% in the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 14,170 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $764,000 after buying an additional 7,499 shares during the last quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Black Hills by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 31,766 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,714,000 after acquiring an additional 465 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its position in Black Hills by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 38,057 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,053,000 after purchasing an additional 578 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in Black Hills by 564.3% in the fourth quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $110,000 after purchasing an additional 1,738 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Black Hills by 41.9% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,440 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 1,312 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.71% of the company’s stock.

Black Hills Price Performance

NYSE:BKH traded down $0.34 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $54.20. 360,657 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 542,609. The company has a market cap of $3.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.91 and a beta of 0.64. Black Hills Co. has a 1 year low of $46.43 and a 1 year high of $66.85. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $52.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $52.20. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $591.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $863.67 million. Black Hills had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 8.09%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.11 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Black Hills Co. will post 3.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Black Hills Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 17th will be paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 16th. Black Hills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on BKH. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Black Hills from $61.00 to $57.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 9th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Black Hills from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their target price on Black Hills from $58.00 to $54.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.00.

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.