MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

MDU has been the subject of several other reports. Bank of America raised MDU Resources Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $31.00 to $17.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Siebert Williams Shank upgraded shares of MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th.

MDU Resources Group Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of MDU Resources Group stock opened at $18.16 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.15. The company has a market capitalization of $3.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.31, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.81. MDU Resources Group has a 1 year low of $14.91 and a 1 year high of $30.52. The company’s fifty day moving average is $19.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.81.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $969.17 million. MDU Resources Group had a return on equity of 11.24% and a net margin of 8.92%. The business’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.29 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that MDU Resources Group will post 1.13 earnings per share for the current year.

MDU Resources Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 12th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.86%. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.67%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 32.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 855,493 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $23,449,000 after acquiring an additional 209,042 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in MDU Resources Group by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,719,543 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $101,978,000 after purchasing an additional 65,433 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 7.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 87,022 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,386,000 after purchasing an additional 6,264 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of MDU Resources Group in the third quarter valued at $396,000. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new position in shares of MDU Resources Group during the 3rd quarter worth $619,000. 71.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MDU Resources Group Company Profile

MDU Resources Group, Inc engages in the regulated energy delivery, and construction materials and services businesses in the United States. It operates through four segments: Electric, Natural Gas Distribution, Pipeline, and Construction Services. The Electric segment generates, transmits, and distributes electricity for residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming; and operates 3,400 miles of transmission lines, 4,800 miles of distribution lines, and 82 transmission and 298 distribution substations.