Nuveen LLC Buys New Shares in Black Hills Corporation $BKH

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has acquired a significant stake in Black Hills Corporation, purchasing 769,473 shares valued at approximately $43.7 million, representing 1.07% ownership of the company.
• Black Hills has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.676 to be paid on September 2nd, which yields approximately 4.4% based on its annualized dividend rate.
• After reporting an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.38 for the last quarter, analysts predict a full-year EPS of 4.12 for Black Hills Corporation.

Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Black Hills Corporation (NYSE:BKH - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 769,473 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $43,690,000. Nuveen LLC owned 1.07% of Black Hills as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Aigen Investment Management LP raised its stake in Black Hills by 42.7% during the 1st quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 11,086 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $672,000 after buying an additional 3,316 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in Black Hills during the first quarter worth about $542,000. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in Black Hills by 15.0% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 4,144 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in Black Hills during the first quarter worth about $1,458,000. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its position in Black Hills by 12.1% during the first quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 6,978 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $423,000 after acquiring an additional 752 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.71% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on BKH shares. BMO Capital Markets started coverage on shares of Black Hills in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America raised shares of Black Hills from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $57.00 to $64.00 in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $66.00.

Black Hills Price Performance

Shares of NYSE BKH traded up $0.1680 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $60.1980. 187,756 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 540,213. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $57.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $58.83. The stock has a market cap of $4.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.15, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.71. Black Hills Corporation has a one year low of $54.92 and a one year high of $65.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.38. Black Hills had a net margin of 12.68% and a return on equity of 7.81%. The company had revenue of $439.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $412.69 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.33 earnings per share. Black Hills's revenue for the quarter was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Black Hills has set its FY 2025 guidance at 4.000-4.200 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Black Hills Corporation will post 4.12 earnings per share 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 is Monday, August 18th. This represents a $2.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. Black Hills's payout ratio is presently 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.