Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Acquires 2,515 Shares of Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH)

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Black Hills Co. (NYSE:BKH) by 29.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,006 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,515 shares during the quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd’s holdings in Black Hills were worth $644,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Black Hills Stock Performance

NYSE:BKH opened at $58.33 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $59.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $60.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19. Black Hills Co. has a 12-month low of $50.73 and a 12-month high of $65.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.64.

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

Black Hills Increases Dividend

The business 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 represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.64%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Black Hills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. Black Hills’s dividend payout ratio is 68.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Scotiabank reduced their price objective 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.

About Black Hills

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.