Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Cuts Stock Position in Black Hills Corporation $BKH

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board decreased its holdings in shares of Black Hills Corporation (NYSE:BKH) by 23.9% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 71,611 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 22,512 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in Black Hills were worth $4,411,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Black Hills by 59.3% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,045,165 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $58,634,000 after purchasing an additional 388,936 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Black Hills by 67.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 618,131 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,071,000 after purchasing an additional 249,640 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Black Hills by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,990,841 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $553,746,000 after buying an additional 225,636 shares during the last quarter. Paradiem LLC increased its stake in Black Hills by 858.5% during the 3rd quarter. Paradiem LLC now owns 234,833 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,463,000 after buying an additional 210,333 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 294.8% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 262,011 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,699,000 after acquiring an additional 195,640 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.71% of the company’s stock.

Black Hills Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:BKH opened at $73.15 on Thursday. Black Hills Corporation has a 52-week low of $54.92 and a 52-week high of $75.87. The stock has a market cap of $5.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.38, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a fifty day moving average of $71.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.04. Black Hills had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 7.95%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.37 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Black Hills has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.250-4.450 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Black Hills Corporation will post 4.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Black Hills Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be given a dividend of $0.703 per share. This represents a $2.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This is a boost from Black Hills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Black Hills’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BKH has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen lowered Black Hills from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Black Hills from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Black Hills from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $66.00 to $81.00 in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Black Hills in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $76.33.

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.