MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts rate MDU as a "Hold" — four firms issued hold ratings and one a buy, with an average 12‑month price target of $21.00.
• MDU reported quarterly EPS of $0.37 (in line with estimates) but revenue of $534.0M missed expectations, and it set FY2026 guidance of $0.930–1.000 EPS (sell‑side consensus ~0.94).
• Director Charles M. Kelley bought 5,000 shares at ~$20.84, while institutional ownership is high at 71.44%, with several funds materially increasing their stakes.

MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $21.00.

Several analysts recently weighed in on MDU shares. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of MDU Resources Group in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of MDU Resources Group in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Loop Capital set a $21.00 price objective on MDU Resources Group in a report on Tuesday, February 24th.

MDU Resources Group Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE:MDU opened at $21.58 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.84. MDU Resources Group has a one year low of $15.07 and a one year high of $21.65. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $20.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.00. The stock has a market cap of $4.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.70.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.37. MDU Resources Group had a return on equity of 6.98% and a net margin of 10.15%.The business had revenue of $534.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $560.72 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.90 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. MDU Resources Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.930-1.000 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that MDU Resources Group will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MDU Resources Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 12th were issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 12th. MDU Resources Group's payout ratio is currently 60.22%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Charles M. Kelley acquired 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $20.84 per share, with a total value of $104,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 8,031 shares in the company, valued at $167,366.04. This represents a 164.96% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of MDU Resources Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MDU. Earnest Partners LLC increased its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 678.2% in the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 9,946,196 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $194,150,000 after buying an additional 8,668,137 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 2,442.7% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,436,521 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $86,601,000 after purchasing an additional 4,262,042 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 41.3% during the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 12,894,945 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $251,709,000 after purchasing an additional 3,766,737 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of MDU Resources Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $59,617,000. Finally, Yaupon Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of MDU Resources Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $23,424,000. 71.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MDU Resources Group Company Profile

MDU Resources Group, Inc is a diversified energy and services holding company headquartered in Bismarck, North Dakota. The company operates through two primary segments: Utilities and Construction Services and Pipelines & Midstream. Serving a broad geographic footprint across the upper Midwest and Pacific Northwest, MDU provides essential energy distribution and infrastructure services to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

The Utilities segment delivers electric and natural gas distribution services in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Kansas, Wisconsin, Michigan and Washington.

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