Victory Capital Management Inc. Buys 462,278 Shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) by 132.1% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 812,139 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 462,278 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in MDU Resources Group were worth $20,385,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MDU. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in MDU Resources Group in the second quarter worth $238,000. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in MDU Resources Group by 82.4% in the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 38,726 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $972,000 after purchasing an additional 17,498 shares during the period. Ingalls & Snyder LLC increased its stake in MDU Resources Group by 3.4% in the second quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 38,485 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $966,000 after purchasing an additional 1,275 shares during the period. Americana Partners LLC purchased a new stake in MDU Resources Group in the second quarter worth $246,000. Finally, Atlas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in MDU Resources Group in the second quarter worth $27,000. 71.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com lowered MDU Resources Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Argus upgraded MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 20th.

MDU Resources Group Stock Performance

Shares of MDU Resources Group stock opened at $25.58 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $18.04 and a 12 month high of $27.30. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $25.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $24.70.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.11. MDU Resources Group had a return on equity of 11.29% and a net margin of 9.25%. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MDU Resources Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, September 12th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 12th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.03%. This is an increase from MDU Resources Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.22%.

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.