15,706 Shares in MDU Resources Group, Inc. $MDU Acquired by MQS Management LLC

MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 15,706 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $262,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 179.0% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,518 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 974 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 241.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,843 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank purchased a new position in MDU Resources Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in MDU Resources Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new position in MDU Resources Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $116,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at MDU Resources Group

In other news, CFO Jason L. Vollmer bought 5,000 shares of MDU Resources Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $16.07 per share, with a total value of $80,350.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 344,548 shares in the company, valued at $5,536,886.36. The trade was a 1.47% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. Cowen assumed coverage on shares of MDU Resources Group in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MDU Resources Group from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of MDU Resources Group to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on shares of MDU Resources Group in a report on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $19.50.

MDU Resources Group Price Performance

MDU Resources Group stock opened at $20.05 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $4.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.91, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.70. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $17.41 and its 200 day moving average is $17.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $14.91 and a 52-week high of $29.76.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $351.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $315.67 million. MDU Resources Group had a net margin of 8.25% and a return on equity of 8.29%. MDU Resources Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.32 EPS. MDU Resources Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.880-0.950 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MDU Resources Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 11th were paid a $0.14 dividend. This is an increase from MDU Resources Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 11th. MDU Resources Group’s payout ratio is currently 52.83%.

About MDU Resources Group

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.