Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Lowers Stock Holdings in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA reduced its position in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,119,825 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 31,536 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned about 0.55% of MDU Resources Group worth $30,694,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MDU. BOKF NA boosted its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. BOKF NA now owns 14,794 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $377,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 96,492 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,432,000 after purchasing an additional 6,237 shares during the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of MDU Resources Group in the 1st quarter valued at $571,000. Yaupon Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of MDU Resources Group in the 1st quarter valued at $4,508,000. Finally, Aurora Investment Counsel boosted its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 18.1% in the 1st quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 82,052 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,068,000 after purchasing an additional 12,588 shares during the last quarter. 71.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MDU. Bank of America upgraded shares of MDU Resources Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $31.00 to $17.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of MDU Resources Group in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Siebert Williams Shank upgraded shares of MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th.

MDU Resources Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MDU opened at $20.12 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.32, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $24.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.07. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $14.91 and a twelve month high of $30.52.

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

MDU Resources Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, December 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 12th. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.67%.

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.