Hennessy Advisors Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 47,147 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned 0.07% of Black Hills worth $2,759,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Zimmer Partners LP acquired a new stake in Black Hills during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $96,374,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 109.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 882,646 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $53,356,000 after purchasing an additional 461,894 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Black Hills by 31.7% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,147,939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $62,425,000 after purchasing an additional 275,994 shares during the period. Invenomic Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Black Hills in the third quarter valued at $8,260,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Black Hills by 324.7% in the second quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 127,243 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,919,000 after purchasing an additional 97,285 shares during the last quarter. 86.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Black Hills Price Performance

NYSE:BKH opened at $59.63 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.12 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $60.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $59.36. Black Hills Co. has a 1-year low of $49.33 and a 1-year high of $65.59. The firm has a market cap of $4.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.72.

Black Hills Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 18th were issued a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 18th. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.36%. Black Hills’s payout ratio is 69.89%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Black Hills from $63.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Black Hills has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $61.25.

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.