Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) Stock Lifted to “Strong-Buy” by Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Zacks reports.

BKH has been the subject of several other research reports. 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 report on Monday, September 21st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective 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. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Black Hills from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Friday, July 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Black Hills from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Freedom Broker raised shares of Black Hills from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $69.00 to $78.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and seven have issued a Buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.25.

Black Hills Price Performance

BKH stock opened at $75.85 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $72.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.22. 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 capitalization of $5.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.15, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.68. Black Hills has a 1 year low of $61.85 and a 1 year high of $78.69.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by $0.13. Black Hills had a return on equity of 7.98% and a net margin of 13.01%. The business had revenue of $452.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $490.89 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. Black Hills has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.250-4.450 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Black Hills will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Black Hills Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Monday, August 17th were given a $0.7030 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 17th. This represents a $2.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.7%. Black Hills’s dividend payout ratio is 70.96%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Clearstead Trust LLC purchased a new stake in Black Hills in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Black Hills in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. GK Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Black Hills in the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Black Hills in the second quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Black Hills during the second quarter worth approximately $68,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.71% of the company’s stock.

Black Hills Company Profile

Black Hills Corporation (NYSE:BKH) is a regulated utility holding company headquartered in Rapid City, South Dakota. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company provides electric and natural gas utility services to residential, commercial, industrial and other customers.

Black Hills owns and operates electric generation, transmission and distribution facilities, as well as natural gas distribution, storage and transportation infrastructure. Its electric utilities serve customers in Colorado, Montana, South Dakota and Wyoming, while its natural gas utilities operate in Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and Wyoming.

The company traces its history to the development of utility services in the Black Hills region and was incorporated as Black Hills Corporation in 1941.