Empowered Funds LLC Purchases 7,580 Shares of Black Hills Corporation $BKH

Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in Black Hills Corporation (NYSE:BKH) by 43.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,929 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,580 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Black Hills were worth $1,730,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Black Hills by 0.8% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,841,615 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $215,515,000 after acquiring an additional 31,093 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Black Hills by 38.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,275,922 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $157,995,000 after purchasing an additional 634,800 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Black Hills by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,894,539 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $131,548,000 after purchasing an additional 55,232 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its position in shares of Black Hills by 176.9% during the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,592,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $110,517,000 after purchasing an additional 1,017,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Black Hills by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,418,384 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $98,464,000 after purchasing an additional 44,334 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.71% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Black Hills

In related news, Director Robert P. Otto sold 4,109 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.22, for a total value of $304,969.98. Following the sale, the director owned 10,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $807,958.92. The trade was a 27.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Black Hills Stock Performance

BKH opened at $72.75 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $73.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.11. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $5.54 billion, a PE ratio of 18.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.71. Black Hills Corporation has a 1 year low of $58.06 and a 1 year high of $78.69.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.13. Black Hills had a return on equity of 8.03% and a net margin of 13.01%.The firm had revenue of $452.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $490.89 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.38 earnings per share. Black Hills’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Black Hills has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.250-4.450 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Black Hills Corporation will post 4.34 EPS for the current year.

Black Hills Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th will be given a dividend of $0.703 per share. This represents a $2.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 17th. Black Hills’s payout ratio is 73.18%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on BKH. Oppenheimer set a $78.00 price target on Black Hills in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Black Hills from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Black Hills from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Black Hills from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Black Hills from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $81.67.

Black Hills Company Profile

Black Hills Corporation is a diversified energy company based in Rapid City, South Dakota, that provides electricity and natural gas distribution services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. Through its regulated utility subsidiaries—Black Hills Power, Cheyenne Light & Power, and Black Hills Energy—the company delivers reliable energy across Colorado, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming.

In addition to its distribution operations, Black Hills owns and operates a generation portfolio that includes natural gas–fired plants, coal-fired units, hydroelectric facilities and wind projects.