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 research note released on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm issued a hold rating and a $18.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock.

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

MDU Resources Group Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of MDU stock opened at $17.74 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.57. MDU Resources Group has a fifty-two week low of $14.91 and a fifty-two week high of $30.52. The stock has a market capitalization 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $969.17 million. MDU Resources Group had a net margin of 8.92% and a return on equity of 11.24%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.29 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that MDU Resources Group will post 1.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MDU Resources Group Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MDU Resources Group

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in MDU Resources Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,234,000. Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MDU Resources Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $4,594,000. Resolute Capital Asset Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MDU Resources Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,008,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 5.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,082,468 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,080,000 after purchasing an additional 101,955 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in MDU Resources Group during the second quarter worth $1,281,000. 71.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.