Black Hills Corporation $BKH Shares Sold by First Trust Advisors LP

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors LP reduced its Black Hills position by 3.3% in the first quarter, selling 23,892 shares and retaining 705,051 shares valued at approximately $48.9 million. Institutional investors collectively own 86.71% of the company.
• Wall Street’s overall outlook remains positive, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $81.67; Bank of America recently raised its target to $87.
• Black Hills reported quarterly EPS of $1.79, below the $1.88 consensus estimate, while revenue of $780.7 million exceeded expectations. The company maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.703 per share, representing a 3.7% annualized yield.

First Trust Advisors LP decreased its position in shares of Black Hills Corporation (NYSE:BKH - Free Report) by 3.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 705,051 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 23,892 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.93% of Black Hills worth $48,938,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Black Hills by 0.8% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,841,615 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $215,515,000 after purchasing an additional 31,093 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Black Hills by 38.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,275,922 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $157,995,000 after purchasing an additional 634,800 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Black Hills by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,894,539 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $131,548,000 after purchasing an additional 55,232 shares during the last quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its holdings in Black Hills by 176.9% in the fourth quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 1,592,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $110,517,000 after purchasing an additional 1,017,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Black Hills by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,418,384 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $98,464,000 after buying an additional 44,334 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.71% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Black Hills

In other news, Director Robert P. Otto sold 4,109 shares of Black Hills stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.22, for a total transaction of $304,969.98. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 10,886 shares in the company, valued at $807,958.92. The trade was a 27.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

BKH has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America lifted their price target on Black Hills from $78.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Oppenheimer set a $78.00 target price on shares of Black Hills in a report on Thursday, June 11th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH began coverage on shares of Black Hills in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $77.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Black Hills from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, April 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Black Hills from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Friday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.67.

Black Hills Stock Performance

NYSE BKH opened at $75.23 on Monday. Black Hills Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $55.79 and a fifty-two week high of $78.69. The stock has a market cap of $5.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a fifty day moving average of $73.57 and a 200-day moving average of $73.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.79 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.88 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $780.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $769.19 million. Black Hills had a net margin of 12.61% and a return on equity of 7.77%. The firm's revenue was down 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.87 EPS. 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 4.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Black Hills Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.703 per share. This represents a $2.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Black Hills's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.18%.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.