Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Raises Stake in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) by 8.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,033 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,392 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in MDU Resources Group were worth $428,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MDU. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of MDU Resources Group by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,181,092 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $122,386,000 after acquiring an additional 858,100 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in MDU Resources Group by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,561,113 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $50,710,000 after purchasing an additional 44,067 shares in the last quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC boosted its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 2,141,514 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,402,000 after purchasing an additional 67,273 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in MDU Resources Group in the 4th quarter valued at $38,971,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of MDU Resources Group by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,918,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,995,000 after purchasing an additional 55,169 shares in the last quarter. 71.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on MDU. StockNews.com lowered MDU Resources Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Argus upgraded shares of MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, May 20th.

MDU Resources Group Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MDU opened at $25.07 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.11 billion, a PE ratio of 10.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.22. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.04 and a 52-week high of $27.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $25.38 and a 200 day moving average of $24.69.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.06 billion. MDU Resources Group had a return on equity of 11.29% and a net margin of 9.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.29 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MDU Resources Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 12th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This is a boost from MDU Resources Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 12th. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.37%.

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.