Stifel Financial Corp Buys 1,353 Shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) by 1.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 85,306 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,353 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in MDU Resources Group were worth $2,338,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MDU. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MDU Resources Group in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in MDU Resources Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in 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 during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of MDU Resources Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position 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 buying an additional 413 shares during the period. 71.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on MDU. Siebert Williams Shank upgraded MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America upgraded shares of MDU Resources Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $31.00 to $17.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of MDU Resources Group in a report on Wednesday. They set a “hold” rating for the company.

MDU Resources Group Price Performance

Shares of MDU stock opened at $17.62 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $14.91 and a twelve month high of $30.52. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.37.

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

MDU Resources Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 12th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.95%. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.67%.

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.