JPMorgan Chase & Co. Acquires 249,640 Shares of Black Hills Corporation $BKH

JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Black Hills Corporation (NYSE:BKH) by 67.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 618,131 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 249,640 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned approximately 0.85% of Black Hills worth $38,071,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of BKH. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D raised its stake in Black Hills by 8.9% in the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 35,617 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,194,000 after purchasing an additional 2,896 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 187,539 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,551,000 after buying an additional 14,144 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Black Hills by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 7,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $484,000 after buying an additional 661 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 28,741 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,770,000 after acquiring an additional 1,169 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Navellier & Associates Inc. grew its position in Black Hills by 24.7% in the third quarter. Navellier & Associates Inc. now owns 11,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $679,000 after acquiring an additional 2,182 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.71% of the company’s stock.

Black Hills Price Performance

BKH opened at $73.63 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. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $71.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.06. The firm has a market cap of $5.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.50, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.75. Black Hills Corporation has a 1 year low of $54.92 and a 1 year high of $75.87.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 business earned $1.37 EPS. Black Hills’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Black Hills has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.250-4.450 EPS. As a group, analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.703 per share. This is an increase 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%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. Black Hills’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 70.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Black Hills 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.