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 report published on Saturday.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on BKH. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Black Hills in a report on Monday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets boosted 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. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded shares of Black Hills from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $66.00 to $81.00 in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Black Hills currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $76.33.

Black Hills Price Performance

NYSE:BKH opened at $72.53 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market cap of $5.47 billion, a PE ratio of 18.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.74. Black Hills has a 12 month low of $54.92 and a 12 month high of $75.87. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $72.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.70.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the company earned $1.37 earnings per share. The firm’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, equities analysts anticipate that Black Hills will post 4.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Black Hills Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were given a dividend of $0.703 per share. This represents a $2.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. This is a boost from Black Hills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Black Hills’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.60%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Black Hills

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of BKH. Zimmer Partners LP boosted its stake in Black Hills by 2,100.0% in the third quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 1,100,020 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $67,750,000 after acquiring an additional 1,050,020 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its stake in shares of Black Hills by 176.9% in the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,592,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $110,517,000 after purchasing an additional 1,017,000 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP boosted its position in shares of Black Hills by 17,790.3% in the 4th quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 849,073 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $58,943,000 after purchasing an additional 844,327 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Black Hills by 10,853.0% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 664,080 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,901,000 after purchasing an additional 658,017 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Black Hills by 38.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,275,922 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $157,995,000 after purchasing an additional 634,800 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.71% of the company’s stock.

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.