Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $10.11 Million Stock Position in Black Hills Corporation $BKH

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Black Hills Corporation (NYSE:BKH) by 25.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 164,194 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 54,745 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Black Hills were worth $10,113,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of BKH. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Black Hills by 37.8% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the period. Lesa Sroufe & Co grew its position in Black Hills by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Lesa Sroufe & Co now owns 45,833 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,823,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Black Hills by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 9,068 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $509,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank raised its position in shares of Black Hills by 0.7% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 32,085 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,976,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Black Hills by 3.5% in the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $410,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.71% of the company’s stock.

Black Hills Trading Up 0.9%

BKH stock opened at $73.25 on Friday. Black Hills Corporation has a 1-year low of $54.92 and a 1-year high of $75.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.10. The business’s 50 day moving average is $71.33 and its 200-day moving average is $65.92. The firm has a market cap of $5.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.75.

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.04. Black Hills had a return on equity of 7.99% and a net margin of 12.62%.During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.37 earnings per share. Black Hills’s quarterly 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. Equities analysts anticipate that Black Hills Corporation will post 4.12 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Black Hills Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be issued a $0.703 dividend. This represents a $2.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 17th. This is a positive change from Black Hills’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. Black Hills’s payout ratio is currently 67.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on BKH shares. Scotiabank upgraded Black Hills from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $66.00 to $81.00 in a research note on Friday, November 7th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Black Hills from $82.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Black Hills in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Black Hills presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $76.33.

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.