Bayforest Capital Ltd Has $781,000 Position in MDU Resources Group, Inc. $MDU

Key Points

• Bayforest Capital Ltd significantly increased its stake in MDU Resources Group by 942.9%, holding 46,824 shares valued at $781,000 by the end of the reported period.
• MDU Resources Group recently announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.13 to $0.14 per share, yielding approximately 3.0% annually, with a payout ratio of 52.83%.
• Analysts have shown mixed feelings about MDU shares, with ratings ranging from upgrades to a "buy" from Jefferies to a downgrade to "sell" from Wall Street Zen.

Bayforest Capital Ltd raised its position in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU - Free Report) by 942.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 46,824 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 42,334 shares during the quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd's holdings in MDU Resources Group were worth $781,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its stake in MDU Resources Group by 179.0% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,518 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 974 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 1,304 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank acquired a new stake in shares of MDU Resources Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $43,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MDU Resources Group during the 1st quarter worth about $48,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of MDU Resources Group during the 1st quarter worth about $82,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.44% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MDU Resources Group news, CFO Jason L. Vollmer bought 5,000 shares of MDU Resources Group stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $16.07 per share, with a total value of $80,350.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 344,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,536,886.36. The trade was a 1.47% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.94% of the stock is owned by insiders.

MDU Resources Group Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of MDU Resources Group stock opened at $18.91 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.86 billion, a PE ratio of 17.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The firm's 50 day moving average is $16.86 and its 200 day moving average is $16.83. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $14.91 and a 1 year high of $30.52.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $315.67 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.32 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. MDU Resources Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.880-0.950 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MDU Resources Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 11th were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 11th. This is a positive change from MDU Resources Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. MDU Resources Group's payout ratio is presently 52.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on MDU shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MDU Resources Group from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of MDU Resources Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $20.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of MDU Resources Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MDU Resources Group presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $18.67.

MDU Resources Group Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.