Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 23,979 Shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU - Free Report) by 2.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,011,987 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 23,979 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.50% of MDU Resources Group worth $17,113,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 179.0% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,518 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 974 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 241.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,843 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,304 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 84.4% during the fourth quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,487 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 1,138 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MDU Resources Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MDU Resources Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Institutional investors own 71.44% of the company's stock.

MDU Resources Group Price Performance

NYSE:MDU traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $16.57. 855,796 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,360,224. The firm has a market cap of $3.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.70. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $13.23 and a 52 week high of $20.39. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $16.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $674.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $653.13 million. MDU Resources Group had a return on equity of 9.86% and a net margin of 7.93%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.52 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MDU Resources Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 12th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.14%. MDU Resources Group's payout ratio is 40.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised MDU Resources Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th.

MDU Resources Group Company 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.