Vanguard Group Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Black Hills Corporation $BKH

Key Points

• Vanguard trimmed its Q4 stake in Black Hills by 0.2%, selling 16,719 shares and ending the period with 8,974,122 shares—about 12.32% of the company worth roughly $622.98 million.
• Research firms show a consensus rating of Moderate Buy (five Buys, one Hold) with a $81.40 target after mixed notes and several target increases, including BMO raising its target to $91.
• Black Hills announced a quarterly dividend of $0.703 per share (annualized $2.81, yield 3.7%), with an ex-dividend date of May 15 and payment on June 1.

Vanguard Group Inc. reduced its position in Black Hills Corporation (NYSE:BKH - Free Report) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,974,122 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 16,719 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 12.32% of Black Hills worth $622,984,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Black Hills by 67.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 618,131 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $38,071,000 after acquiring an additional 249,640 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Black Hills by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 736,014 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $45,331,000 after acquiring an additional 71,963 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Black Hills by 84.8% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,944 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $976,000 after acquiring an additional 7,314 shares during the last quarter. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in Black Hills in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,354,000. Finally, Barnett & Company Inc. raised its holdings in Black Hills by 105.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barnett & Company Inc. now owns 28,400 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,749,000 after acquiring an additional 14,600 shares during the last quarter. 86.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BKH has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Black Hills in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Black Hills from $72.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Black Hills from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on shares of Black Hills in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They set a "buy" rating and a $77.00 target price for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Black Hills from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.40.

Black Hills Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of BKH stock opened at $75.50 on Monday. Black Hills Corporation has a 1 year low of $55.49 and a 1 year high of $78.69. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $72.59 and a 200-day moving average price of $71.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.11. The company has a market cap of $5.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.97, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.74.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.04. Black Hills had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 7.91%. The firm had revenue of $635.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $809.88 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.37 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Black Hills has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.250-4.450 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Black Hills Corporation will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Black Hills Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.703 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $2.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Black Hills's payout ratio is presently 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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