Renaissance Technologies LLC Buys New Position in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 26,527 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $666,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of MDU Resources Group in the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Tompkins Financial Corp raised its position in MDU Resources Group by 22.2% during the first quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 4,404 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. IVC Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in MDU Resources Group during the first quarter valued at about $202,000. Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new stake in MDU Resources Group during the first quarter worth about $207,000. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of MDU Resources Group in the 1st quarter worth about $208,000. 71.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded MDU Resources Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th.

MDU Resources Group Stock Performance

Shares of MDU stock opened at $28.11 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.01, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $25.84 and a 200 day moving average of $25.33. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.04 and a 52 week high of $28.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

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 return on equity of 11.29% and a net margin of 9.25%. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.29 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current year.

MDU Resources Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 12th were paid a $0.13 dividend. 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 dividend yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 12th. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.