MDU Resources Group, Inc. $MDU Shares Sold by Panagora Asset Management Inc.

Key Points

• Panagora Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in MDU Resources Group by 3.3%, now holding approximately 0.31% of the company valued at $10.7 million.
• MDU Resources Group's quarterly earnings missed estimates, reporting $0.07 earnings per share against an expected $0.13, despite revenue exceeding projections at $351.2 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend increase to $0.14 per share, marking a boost from the previous $0.13, with a current yield of 3.4%.

Panagora Asset Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU - Free Report) by 3.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 632,471 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 21,912 shares during the quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.31% of MDU Resources Group worth $10,695,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in MDU Resources Group by 1.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,405,598 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $395,789,000 after buying an additional 408,146 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in MDU Resources Group by 3.2% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,450,566 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $142,894,000 after buying an additional 263,572 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in MDU Resources Group by 30.1% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,124,863 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $52,841,000 after buying an additional 723,560 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in MDU Resources Group by 6.9% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,329,538 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $39,392,000 after buying an additional 150,181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in MDU Resources Group by 7.7% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,276,045 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $38,533,000 after buying an additional 162,026 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at MDU Resources Group

In other news, CFO Jason L. Vollmer acquired 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $16.27 per share, with a total value of $81,350.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 339,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,524,445.96. This represents a 1.49% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.94% of the company's stock.

MDU Resources Group Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE MDU traded down $0.15 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $16.15. The stock had a trading volume of 1,060,022 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,714,519. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $14.91 and a fifty-two week high of $30.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.74. The business's 50-day moving average price is $16.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.77. The company has a market cap of $3.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.24, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.70.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 8.25% and a return on equity of 8.29%. The firm had revenue of $351.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.67 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share. The company's quarterly 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. On average, equities research analysts predict that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MDU Resources Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 11th will be paid a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 11th. This is a boost from MDU Resources Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. MDU Resources Group's payout ratio is presently 49.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded MDU Resources Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MDU Resources Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $18.00.

About MDU Resources Group

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.