Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. Increases Stake in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) by 21.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 81,626 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,360 shares during the quarter. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in MDU Resources Group were worth $1,471,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new stake in MDU Resources Group during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in MDU Resources Group by 158.9% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,196 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 734 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of MDU Resources Group in the third quarter valued at $40,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in MDU Resources Group by 23.9% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,142 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 413 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in MDU Resources Group by 238.1% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,935 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 2,067 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of MDU Resources Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $18.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of MDU Resources Group in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Siebert Williams Shank upgraded shares of MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Bank of America raised MDU Resources Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $31.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.00.

MDU Resources Group Stock Performance

Shares of MDU stock opened at $17.68 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.06, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.15. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a one year low of $14.91 and a one year high of $30.52.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.01. MDU Resources Group had a net margin of 8.92% and a return on equity of 11.24%. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $969.17 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.29 EPS. MDU Resources Group’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MDU Resources Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 12th were given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 12th. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.67%.

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.