Hedge Funds Are Betting On Black Hills Corp (BKH)

Should Black Hills Corp (NYSE:BKH) investors track the following data?

In the 21st century investor’s toolkit, there are dozens of methods market participants can use to monitor their holdings. Some of the most under-the-radar are hedge fund and insider trading movement. At Insider Monkey, our research analyses have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the top investment managers can outclass the market by a solid margin (see just how much).

Black Hills Corp (NYSE:BKH)

Just as necessary, positive insider trading activity is a second way to analyze the stock market universe. As the old adage goes: there are a number of motivations for an upper level exec to sell shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would buy. Several academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this strategy if piggybackers understand what to do (learn more here).

Now that that’s out of the way, we’re going to discuss the latest info surrounding Black Hills Corp (NYSE:BKH).

What does the smart money think about Black Hills Corp (NYSE:BKH)?

In preparation for the third quarter, a total of 10 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of 43% from the previous quarter. With hedge funds’ sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were increasing their holdings considerably.

According to our 13F database, GAMCO Investors, managed by Mario Gabelli, holds the biggest position in Black Hills Corp (NYSE:BKH). GAMCO Investors has a $31.7 million position in the stock, comprising 0.2% of its 13F portfolio. On GAMCO Investors’s heels is Louis Bacon of Moore Global Investments, with a $4.9 million call position; 0.1% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Remaining hedgies that hold long positions include D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies and Louis Bacon’s Moore Global Investments.

Now, certain money managers were leading the bulls’ herd. GAMCO Investors, managed by Mario Gabelli, assembled the most valuable position in Black Hills Corp (NYSE:BKH). GAMCO Investors had 31.7 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. Louis Bacon’s Moore Global Investments also initiated a $4.9 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new BKH investors: D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies, and Louis Bacon’s Moore Global Investments.

How have insiders been trading Black Hills Corp (NYSE:BKH)?

Insider buying is most useful when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past half-year. Over the latest six-month time frame, Black Hills Corp (NYSE:BKH) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and zero insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

We’ll also examine the relationship between both of these indicators in other stocks similar to Black Hills Corp (NYSE:BKH). These stocks are IDACORP Inc (NYSE:IDA), Portland General Electric Company (NYSE:POR), Atlantic Power Corp (NYSE:AT), UNS Energy Corp (NYSE:UNS), and UIL Holdings Corporation (NYSE:UIL). This group of stocks belong to the electric utilities industry and their market caps are similar to BKH’s market cap.

Company Name # of Hedge Funds # of Insiders Buying # of Insiders Selling
IDACORP Inc (NYSE:IDA) 11 0 0
Portland General Electric Company (NYSE:POR) 16 0 0
Atlantic Power Corp (NYSE:AT) 10 0 0
UNS Energy Corp (NYSE:UNS) 13 0 0
UIL Holdings Corporation (NYSE:UIL) 10 0 0

Using the returns explained by our tactics, regular investors must always keep one eye on hedge fund and insider trading activity, and Black Hills Corp (NYSE:BKH) is an important part of this process.

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