Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) Upgraded at Freedom Broker

Freedom Broker upgraded shares of Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. Freedom Broker currently has $78.00 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $69.00.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised Black Hills from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings raised Black Hills from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Black Hills from $86.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Oppenheimer set a $78.00 target price on shares of Black Hills in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Black Hills from $87.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.71.

Black Hills Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of BKH opened at $76.00 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.41. Black Hills has a one year low of $59.91 and a one year high of $78.69. The company has a market cap of $5.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.68.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 last year, the business posted $0.38 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Black Hills has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.250-4.450 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Black Hills will post 4.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Black Hills Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a dividend of $0.7030 per share. This represents a $2.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. Black Hills’s payout ratio is presently 70.96%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Black Hills

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of BKH. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its position in shares of Black Hills by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 3,342 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Black Hills by 17.5% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,134 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $84,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the period. Capital Financial Group Inc. Co. ADV raised its stake in Black Hills by 0.8% during the first quarter. Capital Financial Group Inc. Co. ADV now owns 22,121 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,535,000 after buying an additional 171 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Black Hills by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 4,804 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Black Hills by 4.2% in the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 5,979 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $445,000 after buying an additional 241 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.71% of the company’s stock.

Black Hills Company Profile

Black Hills Corporation (NYSE:BKH) is a regulated utility holding company headquartered in Rapid City, South Dakota. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company provides electric and natural gas utility services to residential, commercial, industrial and other customers.

Black Hills owns and operates electric generation, transmission and distribution facilities, as well as natural gas distribution, storage and transportation infrastructure. Its electric utilities serve customers in Colorado, Montana, South Dakota and Wyoming, while its natural gas utilities operate in Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and Wyoming.

The company traces its history to the development of utility services in the Black Hills region and was incorporated as Black Hills Corporation in 1941.