Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. Takes $26.10 Million Position in MDU Resources Group, Inc. $MDU

Key Points

• Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. has acquired a new stake in MDU Resources Group, purchasing approximately 1.57 million shares valued at about $26.1 million, representing 0.77% of the company.
• MDU Resources Group has recently announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.14 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend of $0.56 and a yield of 2.9%.
• The company reported $0.07 EPS for its latest quarter, missing expectations, while revenues increased 1.9% year-over-year to $351.2 million.

Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,565,582 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $26,098,000. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. owned approximately 0.77% of MDU Resources Group at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 1.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,405,598 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $395,789,000 after purchasing an additional 408,146 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 3.2% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,450,566 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $142,894,000 after purchasing an additional 263,572 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 30.1% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,124,863 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $52,841,000 after purchasing an additional 723,560 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 6.9% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,329,538 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $39,392,000 after purchasing an additional 150,181 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 7.7% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,276,045 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $38,533,000 after purchasing an additional 162,026 shares during the period. 71.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MDU Resources Group Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE MDU opened at $19.19 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The business has a 50-day moving average of $16.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $16.85. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $351.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $315.67 million. MDU Resources Group had a return on equity of 8.29% and a net margin of 8.25%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.32 earnings per share. MDU Resources Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.880-0.950 EPS. On average, 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 company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 11th were given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. This is an increase from MDU Resources Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, September 11th. MDU Resources Group's payout ratio is presently 52.83%.

Insider Activity at MDU Resources Group

In other news, CFO Jason L. Vollmer bought 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $16.07 per share, for a total transaction of $80,350.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 344,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,536,886.36. This trade represents a 1.47% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.94% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.

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.