MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) Stock Holdings Trimmed by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) by 11.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 678,898 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 87,747 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.33% of MDU Resources Group worth $17,040,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in MDU Resources Group in the fourth quarter worth $38,971,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of MDU Resources Group by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,181,092 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $122,386,000 after buying an additional 858,100 shares during the last quarter. Bornite Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in MDU Resources Group during the first quarter worth about $8,820,000. Yaupon Capital Management LP bought a new position in MDU Resources Group in the first quarter worth about $4,508,000. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new position in MDU Resources Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $3,778,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on MDU shares. Argus raised MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price target 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 report on Friday, July 26th.

MDU Resources Group Price Performance

NYSE MDU opened at $25.06 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $25.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $24.55. The stock has a market cap of $5.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 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 52 week low of $18.04 and a 52 week high of $27.30.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.06 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 1.55 EPS for the current 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 issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 12th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. This is an increase from MDU Resources Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

About MDU Resources Group

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.