HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC Takes Position in Black Hills Corporation $BKH

HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Black Hills Corporation (NYSE:BKH) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 25,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,736,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of BKH. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Black Hills by 132.3% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 576 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Black Hills during the 3rd quarter valued at $45,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Black Hills by 884.8% during the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 699 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp boosted its position in Black Hills by 192.8% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 773 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Black Hills by 44.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,037 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. 86.71% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Siebert Williams Shank raised shares of Black Hills from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $79.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Black Hills from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on shares of Black Hills in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $77.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Black Hills from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Black Hills from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $81.17.

Black Hills Trading Up 2.2%

Black Hills stock opened at $73.36 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $73.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $72.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.72. Black Hills Corporation has a 52 week low of $55.49 and a 52 week high of $78.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.65.

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

Black Hills Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.703 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $2.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. Black Hills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.18%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Black Hills

In other news, Director Robert P. Otto sold 4,109 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.22, for a total transaction of $304,969.98. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,886 shares in the company, valued at approximately $807,958.92. This trade represents a 27.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.56% 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.