State of Michigan Retirement System Trims Stock Position in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

State of Michigan Retirement System reduced its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) by 1.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,120 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 900 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in MDU Resources Group were worth $1,233,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MDU. BOKF NA raised its stake in MDU Resources Group by 4.1% during the first quarter. BOKF NA now owns 14,794 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $377,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC boosted its position in MDU Resources Group by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 34,869 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $875,000 after acquiring an additional 606 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama grew its stake in MDU Resources Group by 0.3% in the first quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 255,718 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,444,000 after purchasing an additional 671 shares during the last quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its position in shares of MDU Resources Group by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 176,622 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,451,000 after buying an additional 708 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hudson Value Partners LLC increased its position in shares of MDU Resources Group by 0.4% during the first quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 210,808 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,312,000 after purchasing an additional 782 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, May 20th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MDU Resources Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th.

MDU Resources Group Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of MDU stock opened at $25.18 on Friday. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $18.04 and a fifty-two week high of $27.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.13 billion, a PE ratio of 10.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.43. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $25.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $24.39.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.11. MDU Resources Group had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 11.42%. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.29 EPS. MDU Resources Group’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current year.

MDU Resources Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 is Thursday, September 12th. This is an increase 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%. MDU Resources Group’s payout ratio is currently 22.22%.

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.