Inspire Advisors LLC Takes Position in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

Inspire Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 9,166 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $230,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MDU. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its position in MDU Resources Group by 28.6% during the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 28,119 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $706,000 after buying an additional 6,249 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in MDU Resources Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $11,105,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in MDU Resources Group by 30.7% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,158,224 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $104,371,000 after purchasing an additional 977,487 shares in the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association raised its stake in MDU Resources Group by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 15,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 878 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Choreo LLC purchased a new position in MDU Resources Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $276,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MDU Resources Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Argus raised 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 note on Monday, May 20th.

MDU Resources Group Stock Performance

NYSE MDU opened at $27.41 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $25.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.78. 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 twelve month low of $18.04 and a twelve month high of $27.75. The company has a market capitalization of $5.59 billion, a PE ratio of 11.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.77.

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

MDU Resources Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 12th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 12th. This is a positive change from MDU Resources Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.