Teacher Retirement System of Texas Sells 62,553 Shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas cut its holdings in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU - Free Report) by 68.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,317 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 62,553 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas' holdings in MDU Resources Group were worth $479,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MDU. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings 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 valued at $126,137,000 after acquiring an additional 3,982,783 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings 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 valued at $414,414,000 after acquiring an additional 3,276,114 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in MDU Resources Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $40,857,000. Pertento Partners LLP boosted its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 90.3% in the fourth quarter. Pertento Partners LLP now owns 2,990,144 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $53,882,000 after acquiring an additional 1,419,118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 300.1% in the fourth quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 691,993 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $12,470,000 after acquiring an additional 519,029 shares during the last quarter. 71.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MDU Resources Group Stock Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:MDU traded up $0.10 during trading on Thursday, hitting $17.00. 1,449,877 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,350,285. The stock has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.18, 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $16.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 return on equity of 9.86% and a net margin of 7.93%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.52 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MDU Resources Group Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.06%. MDU Resources Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.