HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC Purchases New Position in Black Hills Corporation $BKH

Key Points

• HITE Hedge Asset Management opened a new position in Black Hills, buying 25,000 shares valued at about $1.74 million in the fourth quarter.
• Black Hills has seen notable institutional interest, with 86.71% of shares now owned by institutional investors; several funds significantly increased their holdings recently.
• Analysts remain generally positive on the utility, with a consensus Buy rating and an average price target of $81.17, even as the company recently reported earnings that missed EPS estimates but beat revenue expectations.

HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Black Hills Corporation (NYSE:BKH - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 25,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,736,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Zimmer Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 2,100.0% in the third quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 1,100,020 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $67,750,000 after buying an additional 1,050,020 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Black Hills by 10,853.0% during the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 664,080 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $40,901,000 after purchasing an additional 658,017 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 38.7% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,275,922 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $157,995,000 after acquiring an additional 634,800 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 52.8% in the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,374,050 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $84,628,000 after acquiring an additional 474,947 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP increased its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 220.7% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 525,653 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,375,000 after acquiring an additional 361,751 shares during the period. 86.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Black Hills news, Director Robert P. Otto sold 4,109 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 trade represents a 27.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.56% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer set a $78.00 price objective on Black Hills in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings cut Black Hills from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen cut Black Hills from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. Siebert Williams Shank raised 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, March 12th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started coverage on Black Hills in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued a "buy" rating and a $77.00 price target for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Black Hills has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.17.

Black Hills Trading Up 2.2%

BKH opened at $73.36 on Friday. Black Hills Corporation has a one year low of $55.49 and a one year high of $78.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.58 billion, a PE ratio of 19.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.72. The business's 50 day moving average price is $73.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $72.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.65.

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

Black Hills Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $0.703 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $2.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. Black Hills's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.18%.

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.

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