Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) Shares Up 6.5% – Time to Buy?

Black Hills Corporation (NYSE:BKH)’s share price was up 6.5% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $72.20 and last traded at $72.1830. Approximately 1,102,578 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 9% from the average daily volume of 1,008,755 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.78.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on BKH shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Black Hills from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Black Hills from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH assumed coverage on shares of Black Hills in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $77.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Black Hills from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Finally, Siebert Williams Shank upgraded shares of Black Hills from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $79.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.40.

Black Hills Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $73.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.77, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.72.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by ($0.09). Black Hills had a net margin of 12.61% and a return on equity of 7.77%. The business had revenue of $780.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $769.19 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.87 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Black Hills has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.250-4.450 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Black Hills Corporation will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Black Hills Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $0.703 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $2.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Black Hills’s payout ratio is presently 73.18%.

Insider Activity

In other Black Hills news, Director Robert P. Otto sold 4,109 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.22, for a total value of $304,969.98. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,886 shares in the company, valued at approximately $807,958.92. The trade was a 27.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Black Hills

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in Black Hills by 10.8% during the third 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in Black Hills by 67.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 618,131 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,071,000 after acquiring an additional 249,640 shares in the last quarter. Greenland Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Black Hills by 140.6% during the third quarter. Greenland Capital Management LP now owns 29,573 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,821,000 after acquiring an additional 17,280 shares in the last quarter. Barnett & Company Inc. boosted its stake in Black Hills by 105.8% during the third quarter. Barnett & Company Inc. now owns 28,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,749,000 after acquiring an additional 14,600 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 634,800 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.71% of the company’s stock.

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.