Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. Raises Holdings in Black Hills Corporation $BKH

Key Points

• Crawford Investment Counsel boosted its stake in Black Hills by 264.8%, adding 324,931 shares to hold 447,651 shares worth about $27.6 million after the third quarter.
• Black Hills raised its quarterly dividend to $0.703 (annualized $2.81), a yield of 3.9%, with a payout ratio of 70.6%.
• The company beat quarterly EPS estimates ($1.41 vs. $1.37), set FY2026 guidance of 4.25–4.45 EPS, and holds an average analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” (four Buys, one Hold) with an average target of $77.75.

Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Black Hills Corporation (NYSE:BKH - Free Report) by 264.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 447,651 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 324,931 shares during the period. Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. owned 0.61% of Black Hills worth $27,571,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its position 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 valued at $2,596,000 after purchasing an additional 2,906 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Black Hills by 83.2% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,345 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $203,000 after buying an additional 1,519 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Black Hills by 37.8% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,040 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $184,000 after acquiring an additional 834 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in Black Hills in the first quarter valued at approximately $255,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in Black Hills by 5.8% in 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. 86.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on BKH shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Black Hills in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Siebert Williams Shank raised shares of Black Hills from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $79.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen raised Black Hills from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Black Hills from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $77.75.

Black Hills Stock Up 2.5%

BKH stock opened at $72.40 on Friday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $72.68 and its 200 day moving average is $67.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.35. Black Hills Corporation has a one year low of $54.92 and a one year high of $75.87. The firm has a market cap of $5.46 billion, a PE ratio of 18.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.75.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.04. Black Hills had a return on equity of 7.95% and a net margin of 12.62%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.37 EPS. Black Hills has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.250-4.450 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Black Hills Corporation will post 4.12 EPS for the current year.

Black Hills Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a $0.703 dividend. This represents a $2.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. This is an increase from Black Hills's previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Black Hills's payout ratio is 70.60%.

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.

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