Phocas Financial Corp. Sells 156,538 Shares of Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH)

Phocas Financial Corp. trimmed its position in shares of Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) by 85.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 26,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 156,538 shares during the period. Black Hills makes up approximately 1.1% of Phocas Financial Corp.’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Phocas Financial Corp.’s holdings in Black Hills were worth $1,527,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BKH. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Black Hills by 84.9% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 577 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 265 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in shares of Black Hills by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 8,162 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 270 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its position in Black Hills by 83.3% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 625 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 181.5% in 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 period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in Black Hills by 5.8% in the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 5,904 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the period. 86.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Black Hills Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE BKH opened at $59.75 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.82. Black Hills Co. has a 12-month low of $50.72 and a 12-month high of $65.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.28 billion, a PE ratio of 15.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.73.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Black Hills Co. will post 4.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Black Hills Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.676 per share. This is a positive change from Black Hills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.53%. Black Hills’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.