MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) CFO Jason L. Vollmer Buys 5,000 Shares

Key Points

• MDU Resources Group's CFO Jason Vollmer recently acquired 5,000 shares of the company at an average price of $16.27, increasing his total ownership to 339,548 shares valued at approximately $5.5 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.13 to $0.14 per share, representing a 3.4% yield and a payout ratio of 52.83%.
• Despite reporting a miss in earnings with $0.07 EPS against an expected $0.13, MDU's revenue rose to $351.2 million, surpassing estimates, and analysts project a consensus target price of $18.00.

MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU - Get Free Report) CFO Jason L. Vollmer acquired 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $16.27 per share, for a total transaction of $81,350.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer directly owned 339,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,524,445.96. The trade was a 1.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

MDU Resources Group Price Performance

MDU traded up $0.2970 during trading on Friday, hitting $16.6470. 1,775,782 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,658,547. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $16.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $16.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.71. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $14.91 and a twelve month high of $30.52. The company has a market cap of $3.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.70, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.73.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU - Get Free Report) last issued 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 business had revenue of $351.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $315.67 million. MDU Resources Group had a net margin of 8.25% and a return on equity of 8.29%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.32 EPS. MDU Resources Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.880-0.950 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.4%. MDU Resources Group's payout ratio is 49.06%.

Institutional Trading of MDU Resources Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in MDU Resources Group by 1.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,405,598 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $395,789,000 after purchasing an additional 408,146 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 3.2% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,450,566 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $142,894,000 after buying an additional 263,572 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 132.0% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,999,856 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $126,137,000 after purchasing an additional 3,982,783 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in MDU Resources Group by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,427,029 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $57,144,000 after buying an additional 8,754 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 30.1% in the first 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

MDU Resources Group Company 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.