SG Americas Securities LLC Decreases Stock Position in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

SG Americas Securities LLC reduced its position in shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) by 68.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,665 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 27,332 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in MDU Resources Group were worth $228,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MDU. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new position in MDU Resources Group during the third quarter valued at $2,234,000. Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MDU Resources Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,594,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in shares of MDU Resources Group during the 4th quarter valued at $778,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,082,468 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,080,000 after purchasing an additional 101,955 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 32.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 855,493 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $23,449,000 after buying an additional 209,042 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.44% of the company’s stock.

MDU Resources Group Trading Down 5.7 %

MDU opened at $16.97 on Friday. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $14.91 and a 12 month high of $30.52. The firm has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.70, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.80. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $18.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.65.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.03. MDU Resources Group had a return on equity of 11.24% and a net margin of 8.92%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MDU Resources Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, December 12th were issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.07%. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on MDU. Bank of America raised shares of MDU Resources Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $31.00 to $17.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Siebert Williams Shank raised 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 research report on Friday, January 3rd. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of MDU Resources Group in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “hold” rating and a $18.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MDU Resources Group has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.00.

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.