California Public Employees Retirement System Decreases Holdings in Black Hills Corporation $BKH

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its holdings in Black Hills Corporation (NYSE:BKH) by 11.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 180,499 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 22,838 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Black Hills were worth $12,528,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new stake in Black Hills during the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. First Horizon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 192.8% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 773 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 509 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 44.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,037 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 317 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Black Hills by 47.6% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 850 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Black Hills by 42.6% in the third quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 1,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. 86.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Black Hills from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Oppenheimer set a $78.00 price target on shares of Black Hills in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target 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. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on Black Hills in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $77.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Black Hills from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, Black Hills presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $81.67.

Insider Activity

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

Black Hills Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of Black Hills stock opened at $75.23 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Black Hills Corporation has a 52-week low of $55.79 and a 52-week high of $78.69. The company has a market capitalization of $5.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a 50 day moving average of $73.57 and a 200 day moving average of $73.01.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $780.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $769.19 million. Black Hills had a net margin of 12.61% and a return on equity of 7.77%. The company’s revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.87 EPS. Black Hills has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.250-4.450 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Black Hills Corporation will post 4.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Black Hills Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $0.703 dividend. This represents a $2.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Black Hills’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.18%.

Black Hills 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.