Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Black Hills Corporation (NYSE:BKH) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $79.16 and last traded at $79.13, with a volume of 22,177 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $78.55.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BKH has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Black Hills from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Black Hills from $87.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Freedom Broker upgraded Black Hills from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Black Hills in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $87.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Black Hills from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and seven have given a Buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $83.25.

Black Hills Trading Up 1.0%

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $72.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $73.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.68. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $452.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $490.89 million. Black Hills had a return on equity of 7.98% and a net margin of 13.01%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. Black Hills has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.250-4.450 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Black Hills Corporation will post 4.34 EPS for the current year.

Black Hills Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th were given a dividend of $0.7030 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $2.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Black Hills’s payout ratio is 70.96%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Black Hills

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BKH. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Black Hills in the 2nd quarter worth about $928,675,000. Corient Private Wealth LP purchased a new stake in Black Hills during the second quarter valued at about $3,691,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Black Hills during the second quarter valued at about $56,841,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its stake in Black Hills by 5,286.1% during the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 593,543 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,198,000 after buying an additional 582,523 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Black Hills in the second quarter worth about $42,613,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.71% of the company’s stock.

Black Hills Company Profile

Black Hills Corporation (NYSE:BKH) is an energy company headquartered in Rapid City, South Dakota. Through its Black Hills Energy businesses, the company provides regulated electric and natural gas utility services to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Black Hills operates electric utilities and natural gas distribution systems across parts of Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming. Its activities include generating and purchasing electricity, transmitting and distributing power, distributing natural gas, and developing and maintaining the infrastructure needed to serve its utility customers.

The company traces its history to the Black Hills region and has expanded through the development and acquisition of utility operations in the central and western United States.