Public Sector Pension Investment Board Raises Holdings in MDU Resources Group, Inc. $MDU

Key Points

• Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its stake in MDU Resources Group by 27.3%, acquiring an additional 138,641 shares to own approximately 0.32% of the company.
• MDU Resources Group reported $0.07 earnings per share, missing consensus estimates of $0.13, with a revenue increase of 1.9% year-over-year.
• Wall Street analyst ratings changed from a "hold" to a "sell" for MDU Resources Group, reflecting a decrease in market confidence.

Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU - Free Report) by 27.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 646,575 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 138,641 shares during the quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board owned about 0.32% of MDU Resources Group worth $10,934,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in MDU Resources Group by 28.6% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 66,160 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,119,000 after purchasing an additional 14,701 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 241.9% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,843 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 1,304 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of MDU Resources Group by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 21,663 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $366,000 after buying an additional 1,742 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of MDU Resources Group in the 4th quarter worth about $185,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in MDU Resources Group by 16.5% during the 1st quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 69,446 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,174,000 after acquiring an additional 9,846 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.44% of the company's stock.

MDU Resources Group Stock Down 0.9%

MDU Resources Group stock traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $16.31. The company had a trading volume of 508,321 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,691,137. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $14.91 and a 12 month high of $30.52. The company has a market capitalization of $3.33 billion, a PE ratio of 15.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.73. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $16.72 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $16.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.13 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $351.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $315.67 million. MDU Resources Group had a return on equity of 8.29% and a net margin of 8.25%. MDU Resources Group's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MDU Resources Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.4%. This is an increase from MDU Resources Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. MDU Resources Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 49.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MDU Resources Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th.

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.