Alps Advisors Inc. Boosts Stake in Black Hills Corporation $BKH

Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Black Hills Corporation (NYSE:BKH) by 79.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 32,720 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,464 shares during the quarter. Alps Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Black Hills were worth $2,015,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 59.3% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,045,165 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $58,634,000 after purchasing an additional 388,936 shares during the last quarter. Paradiem LLC grew its position in Black Hills by 858.5% in the 3rd quarter. Paradiem LLC now owns 234,833 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,463,000 after buying an additional 210,333 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Black Hills by 294.8% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 262,011 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,699,000 after purchasing an additional 195,640 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Black Hills by 625.9% during the 2nd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 220,354 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,362,000 after purchasing an additional 190,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. increased its holdings in Black Hills by 41.2% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 367,234 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $20,602,000 after acquiring an additional 107,176 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.71% of the company’s stock.

Black Hills Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE:BKH opened at $72.42 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.91. Black Hills Corporation has a one year low of $54.92 and a one year high of $75.87. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $71.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.82. The stock has a market cap of $5.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.75.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.41 earnings per share 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 7.99%. The business had revenue of $635.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $809.88 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.37 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue 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, sell-side analysts predict that Black Hills Corporation will post 4.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Black Hills Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a $0.703 dividend. This is a boost from Black Hills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. Black Hills’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

BKH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Black Hills in a research note on Monday, December 29th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Black Hills from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Scotiabank upgraded shares of Black Hills from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $66.00 to $81.00 in a report on Friday, November 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.33.

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.