Baird Financial Group Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in MDU Resources Group, Inc. $MDU

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 11.1% in the first quarter, now owning approximately 0.20% of the company.
• MDU Resources Group's stock received a downgrade from a "hold" to a "sell" rating, while the company has two "buy" ratings and a consensus price target of $18.00.
• MDU recently increased its quarterly dividend from $0.13 to $0.14 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 3.5%.

Baird Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU - Free Report) by 11.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 411,672 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 51,316 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.20% of MDU Resources Group worth $6,961,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 179.0% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,518 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 974 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 241.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,843 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of MDU Resources Group during the 1st quarter worth $48,000. Wood Tarver Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in MDU Resources Group during the 4th quarter worth about $82,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in MDU Resources Group during the 1st quarter worth about $82,000. 71.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered MDU Resources Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $18.00.

MDU Resources Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MDU opened at $16.15 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.74. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $14.91 and a fifty-two week high of $30.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.30 billion, a PE ratio of 15.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.70. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $16.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $16.77.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.13 by ($0.06). MDU Resources Group had a return on equity of 8.29% and a net margin of 8.25%.The business had revenue of $351.20 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.67 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. MDU Resources Group's revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. MDU Resources Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.880-0.950 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MDU Resources Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This is a boost from MDU Resources Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 11th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.5%. MDU Resources Group's dividend payout ratio is 49.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MDU Resources Group

In other MDU Resources Group news, CFO Jason L. Vollmer bought 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $16.27 per share, with a total value of $81,350.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 339,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,524,445.96. The trade was a 1.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.94% 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.

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