Freedom Broker Upgrades MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) to Buy

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) was upgraded by investment analysts at Freedom Broker from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, FinViz reports. The brokerage currently has a $23.00 target price on the utilities provider’s stock, up from their prior target price of $21.00. Freedom Broker‘s price target indicates a potential upside of 18.28% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of MDU Resources Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $27.00 target price 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 upgraded shares of MDU Resources Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $23.60.

MDU Resources Group Stock Performance

Shares of MDU stock opened at $19.45 on Thursday. 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 stock has a market cap of $4.15 billion, a PE ratio of 20.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $19.03 and a 200-day moving average of $20.52. MDU Resources Group has a one year low of $18.14 and a one year high of $22.98.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.09 earnings per share. The business’s revenue 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. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that MDU Resources Group will post 0.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of MDU Resources Group

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its stake in MDU Resources Group by 1.7% in the first quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 27,316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $566,000 after buying an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. BOKF NA increased its position in shares of MDU Resources Group by 0.5% during the third quarter. BOKF NA now owns 114,975 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,132,000 after acquiring an additional 625 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 0.9% during the first quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 77,537 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,607,000 after acquiring an additional 658 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 0.8% during the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 107,442 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,992,000 after acquiring an additional 872 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in MDU Resources Group by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 6,070 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 1,218 shares in the last quarter. 71.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.