MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) Short Interest Down 16.9% in January

MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,340,000 shares, a drop of 16.9% from the January 15th total of 5,220,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,070,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days. Currently, 2.2% of the shares of the company are sold short.

MDU Resources Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MDU opened at $16.78 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.07. MDU Resources Group has a 12 month low of $14.91 and a 12 month high of $30.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.42 billion, a PE ratio of 12.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.80. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $17.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.16.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.03. MDU Resources Group had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 7.31%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that MDU Resources Group will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MDU Resources Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MDU Resources Group

In other MDU Resources Group news, Director Dennis W. Johnson purchased 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $16.64 per share, for a total transaction of $499,200.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 180,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,997,962.24. This trade represents a 19.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,997,452 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $414,414,000 after acquiring an additional 3,276,114 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,186,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $147,530,000 after acquiring an additional 467,355 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 132.0% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,999,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $126,137,000 after acquiring an additional 3,982,783 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 1.8% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 65,433 shares during the last quarter. 71.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on MDU Resources Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “hold” rating and a $18.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America upgraded MDU Resources Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $31.00 to $17.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com cut MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Siebert Williams Shank upgraded MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” 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.