Westport Asset Management Inc. Invests $742,000 in MDU Resources Group, Inc. $MDU

Westport Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 35,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $742,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in MDU Resources Group by 94.5% during the 2nd quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,647 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd boosted its position in MDU Resources Group by 6,404.3% in the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 1,496 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 1,473 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 13,185.7% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,860 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 1,846 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont bought a new stake in shares of MDU Resources Group during the second quarter worth $39,000. Finally, McMillan Office Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MDU Resources Group during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. 71.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MDU. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MDU Resources Group in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on MDU Resources Group in a research report on Monday, July 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised MDU Resources Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $27.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on MDU Resources Group to $22.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $23.40.

MDU Resources Group Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE:MDU opened at $20.45 on Thursday. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a one year low of $15.76 and a one year high of $22.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company has a market cap of $4.19 billion, a PE ratio of 21.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.77 and a beta of 0.67. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $20.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.10.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.01. MDU Resources Group had a net margin of 10.75% and a return on equity of 6.89%. The firm had revenue of $375.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $396.56 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.07 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. MDU Resources Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.930-1.000 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.98 earnings per share for the current year.

MDU Resources Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, September 10th will be issued a $0.145 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 10th. This is a positive change from MDU Resources Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. This represents a $0.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.95%.

MDU Resources Group Company Profile

MDU Resources Group, Inc is a diversified energy and services holding company headquartered in Bismarck, North Dakota. The company operates through two primary segments: Utilities and Construction Services and Pipelines & Midstream. Serving a broad geographic footprint across the upper Midwest and Pacific Northwest, MDU provides essential energy distribution and infrastructure services to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

The Utilities segment delivers electric and natural gas distribution services in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Kansas, Wisconsin, Michigan and Washington.