MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at StockNews.com

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

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

MDU Resources Group Stock Performance

MDU Resources Group stock opened at $18.16 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $19.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.82. MDU Resources Group has a 1-year low of $14.91 and a 1-year 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.01. MDU Resources Group had a return on equity of 11.24% and a net margin of 8.92%. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $969.17 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.29 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that MDU Resources Group will post 1.13 EPS for the current year.

MDU Resources Group Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MDU Resources Group

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 8.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,491,990 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $188,049,000 after purchasing an additional 563,424 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of MDU Resources Group by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,344,185 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $174,713,000 after acquiring an additional 114,719 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 40.9% in the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 6,048,344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $151,813,000 after acquiring an additional 1,756,530 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of MDU Resources Group by 30.7% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,158,224 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $104,371,000 after acquiring an additional 977,487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.44% of the company’s stock.

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.