Geode Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in Black Hills Corporation $BKH

Key Points

• Geode Capital Management increased its Black Hills stake by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, ending with 1.89 million shares valued at about $131.5 million.
• Several other hedge funds also boosted their holdings, and 86.71% of Black Hills stock is now owned by institutional investors.
• Analysts remain constructive overall: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus with a $81.40 price target, while Black Hills recently reported earnings that missed EPS estimates but beat revenue expectations and maintained a 3.9% dividend yield.

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Black Hills Corporation (NYSE:BKH - Free Report) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,894,539 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 55,232 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.60% of Black Hills worth $131,548,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Black Hills by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 12,126 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $842,000 after buying an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Black Hills by 28.7% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,039 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $142,000 after buying an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Black Hills by 110.2% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,093 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 573 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Black Hills by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 6,918 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $480,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Black Hills by 1,179.6% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,197 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $292,000 after acquiring an additional 3,869 shares during the last quarter. 86.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKH has been the topic of several analyst reports. Siebert Williams Shank raised Black Hills from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $79.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings raised Black Hills from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Black Hills from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on Black Hills in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $77.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Black Hills from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $81.40.

Insider Activity at Black Hills

In other news, Director Robert P. Otto sold 4,109 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.22, for a total transaction of $304,969.98. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,886 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $807,958.92. This represents a 27.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

Black Hills Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE BKH opened at $71.90 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average is $73.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.53. Black Hills Corporation has a 1-year low of $55.49 and a 1-year high of $78.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.72, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.72.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $780.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $769.19 million. Black Hills had a net margin of 12.61% and a return on equity of 7.77%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.87 EPS. Black Hills has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.250-4.450 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Black Hills Corporation will post 4.34 EPS for the current year.

Black Hills Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a dividend of $0.703 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $2.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Black Hills's dividend payout ratio is currently 73.18%.

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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