Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. Has $1.47 Million Holdings in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) by 21.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 81,626 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 14,360 shares during the period. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in MDU Resources Group were worth $1,471,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in MDU Resources Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $666,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC acquired a new stake in shares of MDU Resources Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $331,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 100.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 92,428 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,320,000 after buying an additional 46,220 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 114.6% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 26,144 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $656,000 after acquiring an additional 13,959 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC bought a new position in MDU Resources Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,281,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.44% of the company’s stock.

MDU Resources Group Trading Down 2.3 %

NYSE MDU opened at $17.68 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.81. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.08. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $969.17 million. MDU Resources Group had a net margin of 8.92% and a return on equity of 11.24%. MDU Resources Group’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.29 EPS. Research analysts expect that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current year.

MDU Resources Group Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on MDU shares. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of MDU Resources Group in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of MDU Resources Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $18.00 price target on the stock. Siebert Williams Shank raised MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded MDU Resources Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the company from $31.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $21.00.

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.