Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys New Position in Black Hills Corporation $BKH

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in shares of Black Hills Corporation (NYSE:BKH) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 124,539 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,645,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in BKH. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Black Hills by 26.0% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 20,093 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,394,000 after purchasing an additional 4,149 shares in the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its stake in Black Hills by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 4,348 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 549 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Black Hills by 18.4% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 16,877 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,172,000 after purchasing an additional 2,626 shares in the last quarter. QP Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Black Hills during the fourth quarter worth $492,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Black Hills by 67.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 618,131 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,071,000 after buying an additional 249,640 shares during the last quarter. 86.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Black Hills Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of BKH stock opened at $68.64 on Friday. Black Hills Corporation has a 12-month low of $54.92 and a 12-month high of $75.87. The company has a market capitalization of $5.22 billion, a PE ratio of 17.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.75. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $72.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last posted its 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 return on equity of 7.91% and a net margin of 12.62%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.37 EPS. Black Hills has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.250-4.450 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Black Hills Corporation will post 4.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Black Hills Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th were issued a dividend of $0.703 per share. This is an increase from Black Hills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. Black Hills’s payout ratio is 70.60%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on BKH shares. Siebert Williams Shank upgraded shares of Black Hills from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $79.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Black Hills from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Wall Street Zen raised Black Hills from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Black Hills in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.