MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) in a report published on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. The firm issued a hold rating and a $18.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Siebert Williams Shank upgraded shares of MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of MDU Resources Group in a report on Friday, January 3rd. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of MDU Resources Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $31.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.00.

MDU Resources Group Price Performance

NYSE MDU opened at $17.74 on Wednesday. MDU Resources Group has a 1 year low of $14.91 and a 1 year high of $30.52. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company has a market cap of $3.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.81.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $969.17 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that MDU Resources Group will post 1.13 EPS for the current year.

MDU Resources Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 12th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.67%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MDU. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,491,990 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $188,049,000 after purchasing an additional 563,424 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in MDU Resources Group by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,344,185 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $174,713,000 after acquiring an additional 114,719 shares during the period. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its stake in MDU Resources Group by 40.9% during the second quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 6,048,344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $151,813,000 after acquiring an additional 1,756,530 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 30.7% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,158,224 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $104,371,000 after acquiring an additional 977,487 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,719,543 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $101,978,000 after purchasing an additional 65,433 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.44% of the company’s stock.

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.