Oklo (NYSE:OKLO) & Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) Critical Analysis

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) and Oklo (NYSE:OKLO) are both mid-cap utilities companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, risk, institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations and valuation.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

86.7% of Black Hills shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 85.0% of Oklo shares are held by institutional investors. 0.6% of Black Hills shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 21.8% of Oklo shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Black Hills and Oklo’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Black Hills	12.00%	7.43%	2.60%
Oklo	N/A	-32.11%	-13.72%

Volatility and Risk

Black Hills has a beta of 0.72, suggesting that its stock price is 28% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Oklo has a beta of -0.51, suggesting that its stock price is 151% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Black Hills and Oklo”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Black Hills	$2.12 billion	2.01	$262.20 million	$3.72	16.03
Oklo	N/A	N/A	$11.87 million	N/A	N/A

Black Hills has higher revenue and earnings than Oklo.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Black Hills and Oklo, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Black Hills	0	4	0	0	2.00
Oklo	0	2	2	0	2.50

Black Hills presently has a consensus target price of $61.25, suggesting a potential upside of 2.71%. Oklo has a consensus target price of $22.33, suggesting a potential downside of 14.39%. Given Black Hills’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Black Hills is more favorable than Oklo.

Summary

Black Hills beats Oklo on 8 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Black Hills

Black Hills Corporation, through its subsidiaries, operates as an electric and natural gas utility company in the United States. The company operates in two segments: Electric Utilities and Gas Utilities. The Electric Utilities segment generates, transmits, and distributes electricity to approximately 222,000 electric utility customers in Colorado, Montana, South Dakota, and Wyoming; and owns and operates 1,394 megawatts of generation capacity and 9,106 miles of electric transmission and distribution lines. The Gas Utilities segment distributes natural gas to approximately 1,116,000 natural gas utility customers in Arkansas, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, and Wyoming; owns and operates 4,663 miles of intrastate gas transmission pipelines; 42,514 miles of gas distribution mains and service lines; seven natural gas storage sites; and approximately 50,000 horsepower of compression and 516 miles of gathering lines. It also constructs and maintains customer owned gas infrastructure facilities for gas transportation customers; and provides appliance repair services to residential utility customers, as well as electrical system construction services to large industrial customers. In addition, the company produces electric power through wind, natural gas, and coal-fired generating plants; and coal at its coal mine located near Gillette, Wyoming. Black Hills Corporation was incorporated in 1941 and is headquartered in Rapid City, South Dakota.

About Oklo

Oklo Inc. designs and develops fission power plants to provide reliable and commercial-scale energy to customers in the United States. It also provides used nuclear fuel recycling services. The company was founded in 2013 and is based in Santa Clara, California.