Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

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

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MDU. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of MDU Resources Group by 179.0% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,518 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 974 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in MDU Resources Group by 241.9% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,843 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,304 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 84.4% during the 4th quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,487 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 1,138 shares in the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MDU Resources Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of MDU Resources Group in the 4th quarter valued at $77,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.44% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MDU Resources Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th.

MDU Resources Group Stock Up 1.6%

MDU traded up $0.27 on Monday, reaching $16.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,040,245 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,354,944. The company has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.70. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $13.23 and a fifty-two week high of $20.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $16.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.02.

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

MDU Resources Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 12th were issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. MDU Resources Group's payout ratio is currently 40.31%.

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.