NBC Securities Inc. Purchases 17,130 Shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

NBC Securities Inc. increased its stake in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU - Free Report) by 107,062.5% in 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 17,146 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 17,130 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc.'s holdings in MDU Resources Group were worth $289,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in MDU Resources Group by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,997,452 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $414,414,000 after buying an additional 3,276,114 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in MDU Resources Group by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,186,994 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $147,530,000 after buying an additional 467,355 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in MDU Resources Group by 132.0% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,999,856 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $126,137,000 after buying an additional 3,982,783 shares in the last quarter. Pertento Partners LLP increased its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 90.3% during the fourth quarter. Pertento Partners LLP now owns 2,990,144 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $53,882,000 after purchasing an additional 1,419,118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of MDU Resources Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,857,000. 71.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised 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 0.4%

Shares of NYSE MDU traded up $0.07 on Wednesday, reaching $16.83. 1,160,310 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,413,219. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $13.23 and a 12 month high of $20.39. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $16.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $17.46. The company has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $674.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $653.13 million. MDU Resources Group had a net margin of 7.31% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MDU Resources Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, June 12th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.09%. MDU Resources Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.31%.

MDU Resources Group 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.