Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) Sets New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

Black Hills Corporation (NYSE:BKH) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $76.70 and last traded at $75.5560, with a volume of 1118570 shares. The stock had previously closed at $72.17.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BKH has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Black Hills from $84.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America increased their price target 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 cut shares of Black Hills from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Black Hills in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH began coverage on shares of Black Hills in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $77.00 price target on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $81.40.

Black Hills Price Performance

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’s 50 day moving average price is $72.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.30, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.73.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.04. Black Hills had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 7.91%. The business had revenue of $635.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $809.88 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.37 earnings per share. Black Hills’s revenue 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that Black Hills Corporation will post 4.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Black Hills Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were paid a $0.703 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. This is a boost from Black Hills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. Black Hills’s payout ratio is 70.60%.

Institutional Trading of Black Hills

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Black Hills by 132.3% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 576 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Black Hills by 37.8% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in shares of Black Hills during the 3rd quarter valued at $45,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Black Hills by 884.8% during the 3rd quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 699 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Corp raised its position in shares of Black Hills by 192.8% during the 4th quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 773 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.71% of the company’s stock.

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.