Black Hills Corporation $BKH Holdings Lifted by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Black Hills Corporation (NYSE:BKH) by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 187,539 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,144 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Black Hills were worth $11,551,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 9.2% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 7,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 661 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Black Hills by 4.2% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 28,741 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,770,000 after purchasing an additional 1,169 shares in the last quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. grew its position in Black Hills by 24.7% during the third quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 11,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $679,000 after purchasing an additional 2,182 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Black Hills by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 736,014 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,331,000 after buying an additional 71,963 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Black Hills by 132.3% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 576 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 328 shares in the last quarter. 86.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Black Hills Stock Up 0.3%

Black Hills stock opened at $73.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.11. Black Hills Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $54.92 and a fifty-two week high of $75.87. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $71.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.65. The firm has a market cap of $5.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.75.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 quarter last year, the company earned $1.37 EPS. Black Hills’s 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. As a group, analysts forecast that Black Hills Corporation will post 4.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Black Hills Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a $0.703 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This is a positive change from Black Hills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Black Hills’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.60%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on BKH shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Black Hills in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Black Hills from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 14th. Scotiabank raised Black Hills from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $66.00 to $81.00 in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Black Hills from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Black Hills has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.33.

Black Hills Company 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.