Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. Boosts Position in Black Hills Corporation $BKH

Crawford Investment Counsel Inc. raised its position in Black Hills Corporation (NYSE:BKH) by 264.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 447,651 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 324,931 shares during the quarter. Crawford Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Black Hills were worth $27,571,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Black Hills by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 736,014 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,331,000 after purchasing an additional 71,963 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Black Hills by 84.8% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $976,000 after buying an additional 7,314 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Black Hills during the third quarter valued at about $1,354,000. Barnett & Company Inc. increased its position in shares of Black Hills by 105.8% during the third quarter. Barnett & Company Inc. now owns 28,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,749,000 after acquiring an additional 14,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in shares of Black Hills by 294.8% in the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 262,011 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,699,000 after acquiring an additional 195,640 shares during the period. 86.71% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Black Hills Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of NYSE:BKH opened at $72.40 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. Black Hills Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $54.92 and a fifty-two week high of $75.87. The stock has a market cap of $5.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $72.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.95.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.04. Black Hills had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 7.95%. The company’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.37 earnings per share. Black Hills has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.250-4.450 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Black Hills Corporation will post 4.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Black Hills Increases Dividend

The business 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. This is a boost from Black Hills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 17th. Black Hills’s payout ratio is currently 70.60%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on BKH. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Black Hills from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Black Hills in a report on Monday, December 29th. Siebert Williams Shank upgraded Black Hills from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $79.00 to $82.00 in a report on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Black Hills from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.75.

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.