MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) Shares Sold by Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC

Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC cut its stake in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU - Free Report) by 2.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,690,715 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 137,888 shares during the quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC owned about 2.79% of MDU Resources Group worth $102,547,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 42.2% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 115,907 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,089,000 after purchasing an additional 34,409 shares during the period. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 81,626 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,471,000 after buying an additional 14,360 shares during the period. Advisors Preferred LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MDU Resources Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,691,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 109.3% during the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 988,008 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $17,804,000 after buying an additional 515,878 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of MDU Resources Group by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,110,595 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $38,033,000 after buying an additional 324,757 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded MDU Resources Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th.

MDU Resources Group Trading Down 2.4%

NYSE MDU traded down $0.42 on Wednesday, reaching $16.78. The stock had a trading volume of 362,172 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,434,424. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $16.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.58. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $13.23 and a 12-month high of $20.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.72.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.04. MDU Resources Group had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 7.31%. The firm had revenue of $674.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $653.13 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MDU Resources Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 12th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. MDU Resources Group's payout ratio is 40.31%.

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.