Black Hills Corp. (BKH) will raise its quarterly dividend by 5.9 percent to $0.535 per share in 2019. The company has increased its dividend for 49 consecutive years.

The next dividend will be paid on December 1, 2019 to shareholders of record on November 18, 2019. A new annual rate of $2.14 per share yields 2.7% at a stock price of $78.63.

“Today’s declaration marks the completion of our 49th consecutive annual dividend increase, maintaining one of the longest records in the gas and electric utility sector,” said Linden “Linn” R. Evans, president and CEO of Black Hills Corp. “Our track record of dividend increases affirms our long-term strategy of sharing earnings growth with shareholders while maintaining the capital to continue building long-term customer and shareholder value.”

Black Hills Corporation is a vertically integrated utility company headquartered in Rapid City, South Dakota. The company serves natural gas and electric utility customers in eight states: Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming. The company also generates wholesale electricity and produces natural gas, oil and coal. Its predecessor company, Black Hills Power and Light Company, was incorporated and began providing electric utility service in 1941.