Strs Ohio Buys New Shares in MDU Resources Group, Inc. $MDU

Key Points

• Strs Ohio has made a new investment in MDU Resources Group, purchasing 181,100 shares valued at approximately $3,062,000, representing about 0.09% of the company.
• MDU Resources Group has increased its quarterly dividend from $0.13 to $0.14, providing an annualized yield of 3.4%.
• Analysts have a mixed outlook on MDU Resources, with a recent downgrade to "sell" from Wall Street Zen, while the average price target is set at $18.00.

Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 181,100 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,062,000. Strs Ohio owned approximately 0.09% of MDU Resources Group as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MDU. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 134.0% in the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 507,793 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $9,152,000 after buying an additional 290,756 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in shares of MDU Resources Group by 38.9% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 34,459 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $621,000 after buying an additional 9,652 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in shares of MDU Resources Group by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 535,928 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,657,000 after buying an additional 4,461 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of MDU Resources Group by 24.1% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 64,163 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,156,000 after buying an additional 12,451 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of MDU Resources Group by 115.8% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 69,603 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,254,000 after buying an additional 37,355 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Jason L. Vollmer purchased 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $16.07 per share, with a total value of $80,350.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 344,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,536,886.36. This trade represents a 1.47% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen cut MDU Resources Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised MDU Resources Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $20.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, MDU Resources Group currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $18.67.

MDU Resources Group Trading Up 3.8%

Shares of NYSE:MDU traded up $0.61 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $16.70. The company had a trading volume of 6,901,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,421,580. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $14.91 and a 12 month high of $30.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75. The stock has a market cap of $3.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.75, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.70. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $16.72.

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 the consensus estimate of $315.67 million. MDU Resources Group had a return on equity of 8.29% and a net margin of 8.25%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.32 earnings per share. MDU Resources Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.880-0.950 EPS. On average, analysts predict that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

MDU Resources Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This is a boost from MDU Resources Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 11th. MDU Resources Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 52.83%.

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.