StockNews.com Initiates Coverage on MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU)

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

MDU Resources Group Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of MDU Resources Group stock opened at $29.00 on Friday. MDU Resources Group has a 1 year low of $18.04 and a 1 year high of $29.53. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $26.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $25.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market cap of $5.91 billion, a PE ratio of 12.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.77.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. MDU Resources Group had a return on equity of 11.29% and a net margin of 9.25%. MDU Resources Group’s revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.29 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that MDU Resources Group will post 1.58 EPS for the current year.

MDU Resources Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 12th were given a $0.13 dividend. This is a positive change from MDU Resources Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 12th. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.22%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MDU Resources Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 40.9% in the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 6,048,344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $151,813,000 after acquiring an additional 1,756,530 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in MDU Resources Group by 30.7% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,158,224 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $104,371,000 after purchasing an additional 977,487 shares during the last quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in MDU Resources Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $24,372,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 8.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,491,990 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $188,049,000 after buying an additional 563,424 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 36.6% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,745,980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,824,000 after acquiring an additional 467,465 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.44% of the company’s stock.

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.