Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) Now Covered by LADENBURG THALM/SH SH

LADENBURG THALM/SH SH began coverage on shares of Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) in a report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $77.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on BKH. Siebert Williams Shank raised Black Hills from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $79.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Black Hills in a report on Friday, March 27th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Black Hills from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Black Hills from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.60.

Black Hills Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of BKH stock opened at $69.83 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.73. Black Hills has a 1 year low of $54.92 and a 1 year high of $75.87. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $72.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.04. Black Hills had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 7.91%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.37 earnings per share. The company’s 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 will post 4.12 EPS for the current year.

Black Hills Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a $0.703 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. 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 yield of 4.0%. Black Hills’s payout ratio is presently 70.60%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Black Hills by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 9,192 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $638,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Black Hills by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 26,208 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,614,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Black Hills by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,516 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Black Hills by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,827 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $266,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its position in Black Hills by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 7,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $514,000 after acquiring an additional 172 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.71% 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.