Franklin Resources Inc. Has $52.51 Million Stake in Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 897,245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 14,599 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 1.25% of Black Hills worth $52,507,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Black Hills by 66.8% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 432 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Black Hills by 182.8% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 461 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Black Hills by 181.5% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 473 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in Black Hills by 373.2% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the period. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in Black Hills by 83.3% in the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 625 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.71% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Scotiabank cut their price target on Black Hills from $67.00 to $66.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 7th.

Black Hills Price Performance

BKH stock opened at $58.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company’s 50-day moving average is $59.86 and its 200-day moving average is $60.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.20 billion, a PE ratio of 14.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.64. Black Hills Co. has a 1 year low of $50.73 and a 1 year high of $65.59.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Black Hills Co. will post 4.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Black Hills Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.676 per share. This is an increase from Black Hills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.64%. Black Hills’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.88%.

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.