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

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lessened its stake in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU - Free Report) by 68.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm 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.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its position in 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 acquiring 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 valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 1,304 shares during the last quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in MDU Resources Group by 84.4% in the fourth quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,487 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 1,138 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in MDU Resources Group in the fourth quarter valued at $54,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in MDU Resources Group in the fourth quarter valued at $77,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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 Price Performance

MDU stock traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $17.02. The stock had a trading volume of 1,538,126 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,344,265. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $13.23 and a 52 week high of $20.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.70. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.00.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 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 firm had revenue of $674.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $653.13 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.52 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

MDU Resources Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, June 12th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.06%. MDU Resources Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.