Phocas Financial Corp. Has $5.22 Million Stock Position in Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH)

Phocas Financial Corp. boosted its holdings in Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) by 68.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 86,627 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 35,085 shares during the quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. owned approximately 0.13% of Black Hills worth $5,220,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Black Hills by 47.2% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 32,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,045,000 after buying an additional 10,389 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Black Hills by 26.8% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,293,169 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $90,962,000 after purchasing an additional 273,200 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in Black Hills by 6.2% in the first quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 51,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,232,000 after purchasing an additional 2,967 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its position in Black Hills by 1.6% in the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 172,899 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,910,000 after purchasing an additional 2,643 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its position in Black Hills by 12.0% in the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 7,366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $518,000 after purchasing an additional 791 shares during the last quarter. 86.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Black Hills Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:BKH traded up $0.02 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $55.14. 227,613 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 500,321. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $57.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. Black Hills Co. has a 12-month low of $53.26 and a 12-month high of $77.00. The stock has a market cap of $3.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.78, a P/E/G ratio of 6.75 and a beta of 0.59.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.03). Black Hills had a net margin of 9.46% and a return on equity of 7.85%. The firm had revenue of $411.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $552.13 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Black Hills Co. will post 3.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Black Hills Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 1st. Investors of record on Friday, August 18th were given a dividend of $0.625 per share. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.53%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 17th. Black Hills’s payout ratio is 67.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on BKH. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on Black Hills from $68.00 to $61.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 6th. Mizuho dropped their target price on Black Hills from $60.00 to $56.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 9th. TheStreet downgraded Black Hills from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 5th. StockNews.com began coverage on Black Hills in a research report on Saturday, August 19th. They set a “sell” rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Black Hills from $66.00 to $62.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $62.17.

About Black Hills

Black Hills Corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates as an electric and natural gas utility company in the United States. It operates in two segments, Electric Utilities and Gas Utilities. The Electric Utilities segment generates, transmits, and distributes electricity to approximately 220,000 electric utility customers in Colorado, Montana, South Dakota, and Wyoming; and owns and operates 1,482 megawatts of generation capacity and 9,024 miles of electric transmission and distribution lines.