Scotiabank Has Weak Forecast for Black Hills FY2025 Earnings

Black Hills Corporation (NYSE:BKH) – Research analysts at Scotiabank lowered their FY2025 earnings estimates for Black Hills in a report released on Friday, January 23rd. Scotiabank analyst A. Weisel now forecasts that the utilities provider will earn $4.08 per share for the year, down from their prior estimate of $4.12. Scotiabank has a “Sector Outperform” rating and a $81.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Black Hills’ current full-year earnings is $4.12 per share.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.45. Black Hills had a net margin of 12.54% and a return on equity of 7.86%. The business had revenue of $430.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $439.96 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.35 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Black Hills in a report on Monday, December 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $71.00.

Black Hills Price Performance

Shares of Black Hills stock opened at $71.62 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $5.22 billion, a PE ratio of 18.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.75. Black Hills has a twelve month low of $54.92 and a twelve month high of $74.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $70.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.48.

Institutional Trading of Black Hills

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Spire Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Black Hills by 4,115.4% in the 2nd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 548 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Black Hills during the second quarter worth $31,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Black Hills by 132.3% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 576 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Black Hills by 37.8% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Black Hills in the second quarter worth about $43,000. 86.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Black Hills

In other Black Hills news, CFO Kimberly F. Nooney sold 14,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $1,025,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,447,704.70. This represents a 29.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.63% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Black Hills Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were paid a dividend of $0.676 per share. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. Black Hills’s payout ratio is 68.18%.

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.