Honestly, utility stocks usually have the reputation of being about as exciting as watching paint dry. You buy them for the dividends, tuck them away in a corner of your portfolio, and forget they exist until you see the quarterly check hit your account. But things are looking a bit different for black hills corp stock lately. If you’ve been paying attention to the ticker BKH on the New York Stock Exchange, you've probably noticed it’s not just sitting still anymore.
Between a massive pending merger, a 260-mile transmission project that just wrapped up, and a sudden influx of data center interest, this South Dakota-based company is moving into a much faster lane.
What is actually happening with Black Hills Corp?
Let's look at the big news first. On August 19, 2025, Black Hills Corp and NorthWestern Energy (NWE) dropped a bombshell: they are merging. We aren't talking about a small acquisition; this is a tax-free, all-stock merger that aims to create a powerhouse utility presence across the Midwest and Great Plains.
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Right now, as of January 2026, we are in the "waiting room" phase of this deal. The companies filed their joint applications with regulators in Montana, Nebraska, and South Dakota late last year. If everything goes according to plan—and "if" is the big word in utility regulation—the deal should close in the second half of 2026.
Why does this matter for the stock price? Scale.
Combined, these companies will serve roughly 1.35 million customers across eight states. For an investor, that usually means better cost efficiencies and more "regulatory diversity." If one state’s commission is being difficult about rate hikes, you have seven others to balance the scales.
The "Ready Wyoming" win
You might have missed the press release on January 7, 2026. Black Hills officially finished construction on the Ready Wyoming project. This was a 260-mile, $350 million electric transmission expansion. It’s a big deal because it connects their systems in Wyoming and South Dakota, which basically allows them to move power around more efficiently and reduces their reliance on third-party transmission lines.
CEO Linn Evans has been pretty vocal about how this project provides "long-term cost stability." For the stock, it means the company is successfully converting massive capital expenditures into a reliable "rate base" that generates steady returns.
Dividends: The 55-year streak
If you're looking at black hills corp stock, you’re almost certainly looking at the dividend. They are a Dividend King in the making. As of early 2025, they increased their quarterly payout by 4%, marking 55 consecutive years of annual increases. That is the second-longest track record in the entire electric and natural gas industry.
As of January 2026, the stock is trading around $70.60.
The dividend yield is sitting roughly at 3.8% to 3.9%.
Is that the highest yield in the sector? No. You can find higher yields with companies like Avista or even NorthWestern Energy (before the merger finishes). But 55 years of raises? That’s a level of reliability that’s hard to ignore when the market gets shaky. The current payout ratio is around 68%, which is a bit higher than the sector average but still well within the "safe" zone for a regulated utility.
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The data center wild card
There's a specific reason BKH has been popping up in more growth-oriented conversations: data centers. Everyone is talking about AI and the massive amount of power it needs. Black Hills is sitting in a prime spot for this.
During their late 2025 updates, the company mentioned they have a pipeline of data center demand exceeding one gigawatt from existing customers over the next decade. To put that in perspective, they expect this demand to more than double the EPS (Earnings Per Share) contribution from this segment by the end of 2029.
Wyoming, specifically, is a goldmine for this. It has cold weather (lower cooling costs for servers) and plenty of space. Wyoming Electric actually set a new all-time peak load of 318 megawatts in January 2025. They’ve been hitting new peaks for 19 years straight.
Black Hills Corp stock by the numbers
Let's look at what the analysts are saying as we head into the Q4 2025 earnings call scheduled for February 5, 2026.
The sentiment is "Moderate Buy."
Price targets are all over the place. Some analysts have a low end of $64, while others are looking as high as $85. The "fair value" estimates from firms like Simply Wall St suggest the stock might be slightly undervalued, pegged at around $76.50 based on future cash flow projections.
| Metric | Current Estimate (Jan 2026) |
|---|---|
| Stock Price | ~$70.60 |
| 52-Week High | $74.02 |
| Dividend Yield | ~3.82% |
| 2025 EPS Guidance | $4.00 - $4.20 |
| Long-term Growth Target | 4% - 6% |
Keep an eye on that EPS guidance. They've been hitting the upper half of their 4-6% target. For a utility, that's actually pretty solid growth.
What could go wrong?
It's not all sunshine and rainbows. Utility stocks are incredibly sensitive to interest rates. If the Fed decides to keep rates higher for longer than expected in 2026, "bond proxies" like BKH can take a hit as investors move toward fixed-income assets.
There's also merger risk. Merging two massive utilities is like trying to dock two cruise ships in a storm. Regulatory pushback in Montana or South Dakota could delay the deal or force concessions that hurt the bottom line.
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And then there's the weather. A "mild" winter is actually bad for BKH because people don't turn up their heaters. They noted in their 2024 results that mild weather and unplanned generation outages were a drag on earnings.
Is it time to buy?
If you are looking for a "moon shot" stock that will double your money in six months, black hills corp stock is definitely not it. This is a slow-and-steady play.
The real value here is the combination of a 55-year dividend history with a new "growth" kicker from data centers and the NorthWestern merger. Most people get BKH wrong by thinking it's just a stagnant power company in the middle of nowhere. In reality, it's a strategically positioned asset in the middle of a regional energy boom.
Actionable insights for your portfolio
If you're considering adding BKH to your portfolio, here's how to handle it:
- Watch the February 5th Call: This is where they will drop the 2026 guidance and potentially give more flavor on the merger progress. If they raise their long-term growth target above 6%, the stock could see a nice jump.
- Check the Regulatory Dockets: Keep an eye on news out of Montana and South Dakota regarding the merger. Any "stay" or "delay" in the approval process will likely cause a short-term dip in the share price.
- Use the Support Levels: Technical analysis shows strong support around the $69.94 mark. If the stock dips toward $70, it’s historically been a decent entry point for long-term dividend collectors.
- Mind the Ex-Dividend Dates: They typically pay out in March, June, September, and December. If you want the next check, make sure you're a holder of record before the mid-February ex-dividend date.
The story of Black Hills isn't just about utility bills anymore; it's about whether they can successfully transform into a regional giant while feeding the energy-hungry data centers of the future. It’s a lot more interesting than paint drying.