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

Black Hills Corporation (NYSE:BKH)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday. The company traded as high as $82.07 and last traded at $81.62, with a volume of 24,819 shares. The stock had previously closed at $80.79.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Black Hills from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Black Hills in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $87.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Black Hills in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Black Hills from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Freedom Broker upgraded Black Hills from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $78.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and seven have issued a Buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.25.

Black Hills Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $73.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $73.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.21 billion, a PE ratio of 20.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

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

Black Hills Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.7030 per share. This represents a $2.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 17th. Black Hills’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.96%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of BKH. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in Black Hills during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,413,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Black Hills during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $928,675,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its stake in Black Hills by 35.7% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 1,442,064 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $107,290,000 after purchasing an additional 379,211 shares during the period. Banque Pictet & Cie SA acquired a new stake in Black Hills in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $3,214,000. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in Black Hills by 18.0% in the second quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 394,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,356,000 after purchasing an additional 60,052 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.71% of the company’s stock.

About Black Hills

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.