MDU Resources Group, Inc. $MDU Shares Acquired by Trexquant Investment LP

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP increased its stake in MDU Resources Group by 19.1%, acquiring an additional 46,612 shares during the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 290,455 shares.
• MDU Resources Group announced a quarterly dividend increase, raising it from $0.13 to $0.14 per share, representing a 3.4% yield.
• MDU Resources Group reported $0.07 earnings per share for the last quarter, missing estimates, while its revenue increased by 1.9% year-over-year, totaling $351.20 million.

Trexquant Investment LP lifted its holdings in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU - Free Report) by 19.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 290,455 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 46,612 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned about 0.14% of MDU Resources Group worth $4,912,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of MDU Resources Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $12,361,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 30.1% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,124,863 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $52,841,000 after purchasing an additional 723,560 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of MDU Resources Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $10,826,000. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 107.2% in the 1st quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc now owns 1,219,676 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $20,625,000 after purchasing an additional 630,961 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,405,598 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $395,789,000 after purchasing an additional 408,146 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.44% of the company's stock.

MDU Resources Group Price Performance

Shares of MDU Resources Group stock traded down $0.15 on Wednesday, hitting $16.15. 1,060,022 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,714,519. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $16.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.77. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $14.91 and a 1-year high of $30.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.13 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $351.20 million for 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%.The firm's revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.32 EPS. MDU Resources Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.880-0.950 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Thursday, September 11th will be given a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. This is an increase from MDU Resources Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 11th. MDU Resources Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 49.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered MDU Resources Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MDU Resources Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $18.00.

Insider Transactions at MDU Resources Group

In related news, CFO Jason L. Vollmer purchased 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were bought at an average price of $16.27 per share, for a total transaction of $81,350.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer directly owned 339,548 shares in the company, valued at $5,524,445.96. This trade represents a 1.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.94% of the company's stock.

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.