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Black Hills Corporation (NYSE: BKH) has an unusually long dividend record, but the record alone does not make the stock a buy. The latest dividend terms surfaced were $0.703 per share quarterly, or $2.812 annualized, and the company’s 2025 payout ratio was 68%—above its stated 55%–65% target. Without a current share price, valuation, yield, and verified merger update, the available information supports evaluating BKH’s dividend and risks, not a price-sensitive “buy now” call.
Is Black Hills stock a buy now?
There is not enough current market information to answer “buy now” responsibly. A decision needs a dated share price and valuation, a yield calculated from that price, and an up-to-date check on the company’s pending merger. Those figures and status were not established in the latest available company disclosures summarized here. The operating and dividend information does, however, show what investors should weigh before making that call.
Black Hills is a regulated electric and natural-gas utility headquartered in Rapid City, South Dakota. It operates across Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming. The company reported approximately 1.37 million customers on its investor-relations landing page; a January 2026 release gave approximately 1.35 million, so any customer count should be tied to its source and date. Utility earnings depend in part on approved rates, customer and load growth, capital investment, financing costs, weather, and regulatory decisions.
What does Black Hills’ dividend record mean?
Black Hills announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.703 per share on January 23, 2026, equal to an annualized rate of $2.812. The board declared the payment payable March 1 to shareholders of record February 17. The company described the increase as its 56th consecutive annual increase and said its predecessor had paid annual dividends for 84 consecutive years, beginning in February 1942. These are different measures: one counts annual increases; the other counts years with payments. The company’s 2025 Form 10-K counted 55 consecutive years of increases through 2025, before the 2026 increase was announced. Black Hills’ January 2026 dividend announcement.
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The July 28, 2026 declaration, reported in the company’s second-quarter filing, kept the quarterly rate at $0.703, with payment scheduled for September 1. No later declaration is established here, so $2.812 is the latest surfaced annualized rate, not a guarantee of future payments. Dividends remain subject to board approval.
How well are earnings covering the dividend?
The company says it targets a dividend payout ratio of 55%–65% of net income. Its 2025 Form 10-K reported the following payout ratios and dividends:
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| Year | Payout ratio | Dividends per share | Dividends paid |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 64% | $2.50 | $168.1 million |
| 2024 | 66% | $2.60 | $182.3 million |
| 2025 | 68% | $2.70 | $197.9 million |
Source for all table figures: Black Hills Corporation’s 2025 Form 10-K. The 2025 payout ratio was three percentage points above the top of the company’s target range. The $2.70 per-share figure is what the company reported for 2025; it is not the $2.812 annualized rate after the 2026 increase.
Black Hills reported 2025 GAAP diluted earnings per share of $3.98 and adjusted earnings per share of $4.10. Adjusted EPS is a non-GAAP measure and should not be mistaken for GAAP earnings. In February 2026 the company initiated, and in its August 5, 2026 second-quarter release reaffirmed, 2026 adjusted EPS guidance of $4.25–$4.45. Management’s estimate assumes, among other things, normal weather and constructive, timely regulatory outcomes; it is not a guarantee. Black Hills’ August 5, 2026 results release.
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A long record of increases is evidence of past consistency, not proof that the current dividend is risk-free. The company says future cash dividends depend on operating results, financial position, cash flows, reinvestment opportunities, and other factors. Its second-quarter filing also identifies funds from operations, capital expenditures, revolving-credit-facility restrictions, and business prospects. Statutory requirements, subsidiary-level regulatory limits, and bond covenants can also affect distributions.
What could drive growth—and what could go wrong?
Utility investment, rates, and demand
Black Hills has pointed to regulated-system investment, rate reviews, transmission expansion, and generation projects as areas of activity. Its February 2026 results release said it completed three rate reviews during 2025 representing more than $52 million in new annual revenue, and reported four new Wyoming Electric peak-load records. It also described a 260-mile transmission expansion and the Lange II 99 MW generation project. These are company-reported milestones and plans; they do not remove regulatory, construction, customer, or financing risk. Black Hills’ February 2026 full-year results release.
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Large data-center requests
The February release described a pipeline of data-center load requests exceeding 3 GW, with 600 MW included in the company’s five-year plan. In August, Black Hills reported progress toward definitive agreements for a prospective 1.8 GW Wyoming data-center project. A request pipeline, a plan, and a project under negotiation are not the same as signed commitments, completed infrastructure, or earnings already being generated. Investors should treat the opportunity as contingent on agreements, execution, investment, and regulatory outcomes.
NorthWestern Energy merger
Black Hills and NorthWestern Energy announced an all-stock merger and sought approvals in several jurisdictions. Black Hills’ August 5, 2026 release said the transaction was on track but still pending Montana approval as the final closing condition. That is the latest status established here, not a verified status as of October 3, 2026. The deal’s timing and outcome remain subject to approval and execution, and investors should check current company and regulator disclosures before relying on the August update. Black Hills’ August 5, 2026 results release.
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How to assess BKH before investing
Compare Black Hills with other utility stocks using measurements taken on the same date, rather than relying on the dividend streak alone. Useful checks include:
- Yield and valuation: Use a current share price to calculate yield from the latest declared annualized dividend, and compare valuation with the company’s own history and utility peers.
- Dividend coverage: Review payout ratio and cash-flow capacity alongside planned capital spending and financing needs.
- Business and regulatory exposure: Consider its regulated operations, jurisdictions, rate-case timing, and exposure to customer and load growth.
- Growth execution: Distinguish completed investment and approved rates from proposed projects, pipeline requests, or negotiations.
- Corporate events: Verify the merger’s status through current company and regulator disclosures before assigning value or risk to its outcome.
Without current price and peer data, a present-day yield, valuation ranking, or relative attractiveness claim would be unsupported. The available facts point to a long dividend history and a payout ratio that exceeded the company’s target in 2025; whether BKH is attractive at today’s price requires current market and transaction information.
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