MDU Resources Group, Inc. $MDU Shares Sold by John G Ullman & Associates Inc.

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. lowered its position in shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) by 0.5% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 394,297 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,866 shares during the quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s holdings in MDU Resources Group were worth $6,573,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in MDU Resources Group by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,405,598 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $395,789,000 after acquiring an additional 408,146 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in MDU Resources Group by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,450,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $142,894,000 after acquiring an additional 263,572 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in MDU Resources Group by 30.1% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,124,863 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $52,841,000 after acquiring an additional 723,560 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in MDU Resources Group by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,329,538 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,392,000 after acquiring an additional 150,181 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in MDU Resources Group by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,276,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,533,000 after acquiring an additional 162,026 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.44% of the company’s stock.

MDU Resources Group Price Performance

Shares of MDU Resources Group stock opened at $19.17 on Friday. 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 twelve month low of $14.91 and a twelve month high of $30.52. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $17.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.89. The firm has a market cap of $3.92 billion, a PE ratio of 18.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.70.

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

MDU Resources Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, September 11th were paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 11th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. This is a boost from MDU Resources Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.83%.

Insider Transactions at MDU Resources Group

In other news, CFO Jason L. Vollmer acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $16.07 per share, for a total transaction of $80,350.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer owned 344,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,536,886.36. This represents a 1.47% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on MDU. TD Cowen began coverage on MDU Resources Group in a research note on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating and a $20.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings upgraded MDU Resources Group from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen lowered MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Three investment 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, MDU Resources Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $19.00.

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.