Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. Buys 614,482 Shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. $MDU

Key Points

• Deroy & Devereaux increased its MDU Resources stake by 40.6%, purchasing 614,482 additional shares to hold 2.13 million shares valued at approximately $39.4 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 71.44% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed: JPMorgan and Wells Fargo rated the stock “overweight,” while the overall consensus is “Hold” with an average price target of $23.75.
• MDU Resources shares rose 1.0% to $19.41, while the company reported quarterly EPS of $0.10 versus the $0.09 consensus estimate and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.145 per share, yielding about 3.0% annually.

Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU - Free Report) by 40.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,126,689 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 614,482 shares during the period. MDU Resources Group makes up about 1.7% of Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. owned approximately 1.04% of MDU Resources Group worth $39,429,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in MDU Resources Group by 13.7% in the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 18,683 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $346,000 after purchasing an additional 2,244 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its stake in MDU Resources Group by 7.2% during the third quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 34,150 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $633,000 after buying an additional 2,286 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. acquired a new stake in MDU Resources Group during the third quarter worth about $58,000. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. grew its stake in MDU Resources Group by 11.2% during the third quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 13,476 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $250,000 after buying an additional 1,353 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allied Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Allied Investment Advisors LLC now owns 25,554 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $474,000 after buying an additional 3,053 shares during the period. 71.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of MDU Resources Group from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of MDU Resources Group from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $27.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of MDU Resources Group in a research report on Monday, July 13th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $23.75.

MDU Resources Group Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE MDU opened at $19.41 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The company has a market cap of $3.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.44, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.66. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.24 and a 12 month high of $22.98. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $19.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.58.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.09 by $0.01. MDU Resources Group had a net margin of 10.75% and a return on equity of 6.89%. The firm had revenue of $375.30 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $396.56 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.07 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. MDU Resources Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.930-1.000 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MDU Resources Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 10th were given a $0.1450 dividend. This is an increase from MDU Resources Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. This represents a $0.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 10th. MDU Resources Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.05%.

MDU Resources Group Company Profile

MDU Resources Group, Inc is a regulated energy delivery company headquartered in Bismarck, North Dakota. Through its utility and pipeline businesses, the company provides electric and natural gas services to residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers.

Montana-Dakota Utilities operates electric generation, transmission and distribution systems, as well as natural gas distribution networks, across parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Wyoming. Great Plains Natural Gas provides natural gas service in portions of Minnesota.

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