MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) Stock Crosses Above 50-Day Moving Average – Time to Sell?

MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) passed above its fifty day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $19.06 and traded as high as $19.39. MDU Resources Group shares last traded at $19.2560, with a volume of 2,188,551 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of MDU Resources Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $27.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of MDU Resources Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of MDU Resources Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $23.75.

MDU Resources Group Stock Performance

The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company has a market capitalization of $4.15 billion, a PE ratio of 20.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.66.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.10 by ($0.02). MDU Resources Group had a net margin of 10.33% and a return on equity of 6.68%. The firm had revenue of $347.75 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $346.63 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.09 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. MDU Resources Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.930-1.000 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MDU Resources Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, September 10th were paid a $0.1450 dividend. This represents a $0.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 10th. This is an increase from MDU Resources Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.37%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MDU Resources Group

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MDU. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MDU Resources Group in the second quarter worth $580,127,000. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MDU Resources Group during the second quarter valued at $276,933,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 2.5% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,285,747 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $213,120,000 after acquiring an additional 253,950 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of MDU Resources Group during the second quarter valued at $129,159,000. Finally, Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its position in MDU Resources Group by 1,840.7% during the 3rd quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 3,487,504 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $64,658,000 after purchasing an additional 3,307,797 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.44% of the company’s stock.

About MDU Resources Group

MDU Resources Group is an energy delivery company that provides regulated electric and natural gas service and operates natural gas transmission infrastructure. Its utility businesses serve residential, commercial, industrial and other customers across parts of the northwestern and north-central United States. The company’s service area includes Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon, Washington and Minnesota. Its natural gas pipeline operations transport and store gas, supporting the delivery of energy to customers and communities.