ING Groep NV Has $7.04 Million Position in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

ING Groep NV boosted its position in shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) by 51.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 257,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 87,000 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV owned approximately 0.13% of MDU Resources Group worth $7,044,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MDU. KBC Group NV boosted its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 22.0% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,519 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $151,000 after acquiring an additional 997 shares during the last quarter. MQS Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MDU Resources Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $550,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new stake in shares of MDU Resources Group during the third quarter worth approximately $2,039,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 period. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 4.7% in the third quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 78,589 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,154,000 after buying an additional 3,535 shares during the period. 71.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on MDU. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of MDU Resources Group in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Bank of America upgraded MDU Resources Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $31.00 to $17.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Siebert Williams Shank upgraded MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th.

MDU Resources Group Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE MDU opened at $18.34 on Friday. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $14.91 and a twelve month high of $30.52. The stock has a market cap of $3.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company’s fifty day moving average is $25.59 and its 200-day moving average is $25.37.

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. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $969.17 million. MDU Resources Group had a return on equity of 11.24% and a net margin of 8.92%. The company’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.29 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 1.13 EPS for the current year.

MDU Resources Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.67%.

MDU Resources Group 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.