Phocas Financial Corp. Trims Stock Position in Black Hills Corporation $BKH

Phocas Financial Corp. lessened its stake in Black Hills Corporation (NYSE:BKH) by 11.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 154,041 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 20,619 shares during the period. Black Hills comprises 1.4% of Phocas Financial Corp.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Phocas Financial Corp.’s holdings in Black Hills were worth $10,694,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in Black Hills by 132.3% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in Black Hills by 37.8% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in Black Hills in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Clearstead Advisors LLC grew its stake 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 worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 699 shares during the period. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Black Hills by 44.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,037 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. 86.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on BKH. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on shares of Black Hills in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. They issued a “buy” rating and a $77.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Black Hills from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Black Hills from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 7th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Black Hills in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Finally, Siebert Williams Shank raised shares of Black Hills from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $79.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.60.

Black Hills Stock Down 0.2%

Black Hills stock opened at $70.71 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $5.38 billion, a PE ratio of 17.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.12. Black Hills Corporation has a 12 month low of $54.92 and a 12 month high of $75.87.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 had revenue of $635.50 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $809.88 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.37 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Black Hills has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.250-4.450 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Black Hills Corporation will post 4.12 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $0.703 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 17th. This is a positive change from Black Hills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. Black Hills’s payout ratio is 70.60%.

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.