First Trust Advisors LP Decreases Holdings in MDU Resources Group, Inc. $MDU

First Trust Advisors LP trimmed its position in shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU - Free Report) by 66.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,481,593 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 2,954,928 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.72% of MDU Resources Group worth $30,699,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Smith Moore & CO. grew its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 12,855 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $251,000 after acquiring an additional 535 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,748 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 556 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors lifted its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 26,867 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $524,000 after acquiring an additional 587 shares during the period. DMKC Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in MDU Resources Group by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. DMKC Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,048 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in MDU Resources Group by 40.4% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,101 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 605 shares during the last quarter. 71.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MDU Resources Group Stock Performance

Shares of MDU opened at $20.67 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $21.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $15.76 and a 52 week high of $22.98. The stock has a market cap of $4.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.47, a PEG ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.67.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $605.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $688.34 million. MDU Resources Group had a net margin of 10.47% and a return on equity of 6.82%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. MDU Resources Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.930-1.000 EPS. On average, analysts expect that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.98 EPS for the current year.

MDU Resources Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 11th were issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 11th. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. MDU Resources Group's payout ratio is currently 60.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MDU shares. Wells Fargo & Company initiated 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 for the company. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of MDU Resources Group to $22.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of MDU Resources Group in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $22.00 target price for the company. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of MDU Resources Group in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $22.40.

About MDU Resources Group

MDU Resources Group, Inc is a diversified energy and services holding company headquartered in Bismarck, North Dakota. The company operates through two primary segments: Utilities and Construction Services and Pipelines & Midstream. Serving a broad geographic footprint across the upper Midwest and Pacific Northwest, MDU provides essential energy distribution and infrastructure services to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

The Utilities segment delivers electric and natural gas distribution services in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Kansas, Wisconsin, Michigan and Washington.

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