Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) Sets New 52-Week High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Black Hills reached a new 52-week high of $79.16, with the stock last trading at $79.13 and a market capitalization of approximately $6.05 billion.
• Analysts have generally become more bullish: the company has a consensus “Buy” rating from eight analysts, with an average price target of $83.25 and recent targets ranging as high as $97.
• Black Hills reported quarterly EPS of $0.54, beating estimates by $0.13, while revenue rose 3.1% year over year. The company also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.703, equivalent to an annualized yield of about 3.5%.

Black Hills Corporation (NYSE:BKH - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $79.16 and last traded at $79.13, with a volume of 22,177 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $78.55.

Analyst Ratings Changes

BKH has been the topic of several recent research reports. Freedom Broker raised shares of Black Hills from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $69.00 to $78.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Black Hills from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Black Hills from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Black Hills from $87.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Black Hills in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. They set a "buy" rating and a $87.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and seven have issued a Buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $83.25.

Black Hills Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $72.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.41. The firm has a market cap of $6.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.03, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.68.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $452.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $490.89 million. Black Hills had a return on equity of 7.98% and a net margin of 13.01%. The business's revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. Black Hills has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.250-4.450 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Black Hills Corporation will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Black Hills Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 17th were issued a $0.7030 dividend. This represents a $2.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. Black Hills's dividend payout ratio is presently 70.96%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Black Hills

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Clearstead Trust LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Black Hills in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Black Hills in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. GK Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Black Hills in the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Black Hills during the 2nd quarter worth about $56,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Black Hills during the 2nd quarter worth about $68,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.71% of the company's stock.

About Black Hills

Black Hills Corporation NYSE: BKH is an energy company headquartered in Rapid City, South Dakota. Through its Black Hills Energy businesses, the company provides regulated electric and natural gas utility services to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

Black Hills operates electric utilities and natural gas distribution systems across parts of Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming. Its activities include generating and purchasing electricity, transmitting and distributing power, distributing natural gas, and developing and maintaining the infrastructure needed to serve its utility customers.

The company traces its history to the Black Hills region and has expanded through the development and acquisition of utility operations in the central and western United States.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.