Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Raises Holdings in Black Hills Corporation $BKH

Key Points

• Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Black Hills Corporation by 5.5%, now owning approximately 0.36% of the company, valued at $15.6 million.
• Black Hills reported quarterly revenue of $439 million, exceeding analysts' expectations, and announced a $0.676 quarterly dividend with a 4.4% yield.
• BMO Capital Markets has initiated coverage on Black Hills with an "outperform" rating and set a price target of $68.00 per share.

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Black Hills Corporation (NYSE:BKH - Free Report) by 5.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 257,940 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 13,544 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.36% of Black Hills worth $15,644,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of BKH. IMA Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Black Hills in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Clearstead Trust LLC bought a new stake in Black Hills during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Black Hills by 59.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 605 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Black Hills by 1,159.7% in the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 781 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 719 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Black Hills by 238.0% in the 1st quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC now owns 845 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 595 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.71% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America raised Black Hills from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $57.00 to $64.00 in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on Black Hills in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $68.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $66.00.

Black Hills Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:BKH traded down $0.1350 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $59.8950. The company had a trading volume of 339,918 shares, compared to its average volume of 541,114. The company has a market cap of $4.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.09, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The company has a fifty day moving average of $57.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $58.83. Black Hills Corporation has a 12-month low of $54.92 and a 12-month high of $65.59.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.38. The company had revenue of $439.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $412.69 million. Black Hills had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 7.81%. Black Hills's quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.33 EPS. Black Hills has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.000-4.200 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Black Hills Corporation will post 4.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Black Hills Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 18th will be issued a $0.676 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. Black Hills's dividend payout ratio is currently 68.01%.

About Black Hills

Black Hills Corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates as an electric and natural gas utility company in the United States. The company operates in two segments: Electric Utilities and Gas Utilities. The Electric Utilities segment generates, transmits, and distributes electricity to approximately 222,000 electric utility customers in Colorado, Montana, South Dakota, and Wyoming; and owns and operates 1,394 megawatts of generation capacity and 9,106 miles of electric transmission and distribution lines.