Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Black Hills from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. 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. Oppenheimer set a $78.00 price target on shares of Black Hills in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Black Hills from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Black Hills presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $81.67.

Black Hills Stock Performance

Shares of BKH opened at $73.58 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.71. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $73.42 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $73.12. Black Hills has a 12 month low of $58.06 and a 12 month high of $78.69. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.41 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $452.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $490.89 million. Black Hills had a return on equity of 7.98% and a net margin of 13.01%.The company’s revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.38 earnings per share. Black Hills has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.250-4.450 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Black Hills will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Black Hills Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th will be issued a $0.703 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 17th. This represents a $2.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Black Hills’s payout ratio is presently 70.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Black Hills news, Director Robert P. Otto sold 4,109 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.22, for a total value of $304,969.98. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,886 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $807,958.92. This represents a 27.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Black Hills

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 7.3% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 42,798 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,596,000 after buying an additional 2,906 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in Black Hills by 83.2% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,345 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $203,000 after buying an additional 1,519 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in Black Hills by 37.8% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,040 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $184,000 after buying an additional 834 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association purchased a new stake in Black Hills during the first quarter valued at approximately $255,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in Black Hills by 5.8% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 134,673 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,168,000 after acquiring an additional 7,332 shares during the period. 86.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Black Hills

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.