John G Ullman & Associates Inc. Sells 2,925 Shares of Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH)

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. lowered its position in Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 55,591 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,925 shares during the period. John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Black Hills were worth $3,253,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in Black Hills by 84.9% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 577 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its holdings in Black Hills by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 8,162 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $477,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 284 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in Black Hills by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 14,522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $850,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Black Hills by 181.5% in the 4th 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. Institutional investors own 86.71% of the company’s stock.

Black Hills Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of BKH stock opened at $61.20 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $4.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.61, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.73. Black Hills Co. has a 52 week low of $50.72 and a 52 week high of $65.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $58.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $59.88.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.17. Black Hills had a net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 7.82%. Analysts predict that Black Hills Co. will post 4.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Black Hills Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.676 per share. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.42%. This is a boost from Black Hills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Black Hills’s dividend payout ratio is currently 68.88%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Black Hills from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report 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.