MDU Resources Group, Inc. $MDU Shares Acquired by Bessemer Group Inc.

Key Points

• Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in MDU Resources Group by 47% in the first quarter, buying an additional 91,140 shares and bringing its total holding to 285,186 shares valued at about $5.9 million.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed, with the stock currently carrying an average “Hold” rating and a consensus price target of $22.40. Recent calls ranged from JPMorgan’s neutral rating to Wells Fargo’s overweight view.
• MDU Resources recently missed earnings expectations, reporting $0.39 EPS versus the expected $0.42 and revenue of $606 million versus $688 million expected. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.14 per share, implying a 2.7% yield.

Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its holdings in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU - Free Report) by 47.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 285,186 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 91,140 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. owned 0.14% of MDU Resources Group worth $5,909,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,828,483 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $465,132,000 after acquiring an additional 571,015 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 41.3% during the 4th quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 12,894,945 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $251,709,000 after purchasing an additional 3,766,737 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 10,031,797 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $195,824,000 after purchasing an additional 267,700 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 678.2% in the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 9,946,196 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $194,150,000 after purchasing an additional 8,668,137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,121,385 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $139,991,000 after purchasing an additional 281,025 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MDU has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of MDU Resources Group in a report on Thursday, April 16th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $22.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of MDU Resources Group in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company began 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. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on MDU Resources Group to $22.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $22.40.

MDU Resources Group Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE:MDU opened at $20.85 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.27 billion, a PE ratio of 22.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.67. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $21.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.06.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.03). The business 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 business's revenue was down 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.40 earnings per share. MDU Resources Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.930-1.000 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MDU Resources Group Announces Dividend

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

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MDU? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.