Bank of America Issues Positive Forecast for Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) Stock Price

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) had its target price hoisted by Bank of America from $72.00 to $76.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a neutral rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Siebert Williams Shank raised Black Hills from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $79.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Wall Street Zen raised Black Hills from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Black Hills in a research note on Friday, March 27th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Black Hills from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on Black Hills in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $77.00 price objective for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.00.

Black Hills Price Performance

Black Hills stock opened at $73.97 on Thursday. Black Hills has a one year low of $55.49 and a one year high of $75.87. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $72.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.59, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.73.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.04. Black Hills had a return on equity of 7.91% and a net margin of 12.62%.The firm had revenue of $635.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $809.88 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.37 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Black Hills has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.250-4.450 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Black Hills will post 4.12 EPS for the current year.

Black Hills Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a dividend of $0.703 per share. This represents a $2.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. This is an increase from Black Hills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. Black Hills’s dividend payout ratio is presently 70.60%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Black Hills

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in BKH. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Black Hills by 7.3% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 42,798 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,596,000 after purchasing an additional 2,906 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Black Hills by 83.2% during the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,345 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $203,000 after purchasing an additional 1,519 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its stake in Black Hills by 37.8% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,040 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $184,000 after purchasing an additional 834 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association bought a new stake in Black Hills during the first quarter worth about $255,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Black Hills by 5.8% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 134,673 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,168,000 after purchasing an additional 7,332 shares during 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.