With a dividend yield of 3.59% and an annual average dividend growth of 5.3% Black Hills (BKH) should be an attractive investment to anyone looking for solid returns in a safe and boring industry. Not only did Black Hills announce its 51st annual dividend increase they also mark their 79th consecutive year of paying dividends to shareholders.

Black Hills, incorporated in 1941 and headquartered in Rapid City, South Dakota, operates electric & gas utilities, power generation, and mining facilities in the United States.

Their electricity segment provides power to about 216,000 electric customers in Colorado, South Dakota, and Wyoming They provide about 990 megawatts of power generation capacity and own approximately 8,900 miles of electric transmission and distribution lines.

Their gas segment distributes natural gas to over 1,000,000 natural gas customers in Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, and Wyoming. They provide appliance repair services to residential customers and gas infrastructure facilities for gas transportation customers. They own and operate about 4,800 miles of intrastate gas transmission pipelines, 42,000 miles of distribution mains and service lines, 7 natural gas storage sites, and about 49,000 horsepower of compression and 560 miles of gathering lines.

Their power generation segment generates electricity through wind, natural gas, and coal-fired plants and sells to utilities under long-term contracts.

Their mining segment owns a coal mine located near Gillette, Wyoming and sells to electric generation facilities.