HighTower Advisors LLC Purchases 641 Shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) by 2.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 32,739 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 641 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in MDU Resources Group were worth $896,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of MDU. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of MDU Resources Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in MDU Resources Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 158.9% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,196 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 734 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of MDU Resources Group in the third quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 23.9% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,142 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. 71.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MDU Resources Group Trading Down 1.6 %

MDU Resources Group stock opened at $18.55 on Wednesday. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $14.91 and a 52-week high of $30.52. The company has a market cap of $3.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $22.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.41.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $969.17 million. MDU Resources Group had a net margin of 8.92% and a return on equity of 11.24%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.29 earnings per share. Analysts predict that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 1.13 EPS for the current year.

MDU Resources Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 12th. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MDU has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Bank of America upgraded MDU Resources Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $31.00 to $17.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Siebert Williams Shank raised shares of MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of MDU Resources Group in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock.

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.