Verition Fund Management LLC Buys New Shares in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new stake in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 47,497 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,302,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in MDU Resources Group during the 3rd quarter worth $2,234,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in MDU Resources Group in the second quarter valued at about $2,198,000. Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new position in MDU Resources Group in the third quarter valued at about $4,594,000. Resolute Capital Asset Partners LLC bought a new stake in MDU Resources Group during the second quarter worth about $2,008,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in MDU Resources Group by 5.1% during 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 buying an additional 101,955 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MDU has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Siebert Williams Shank raised shares of MDU Resources Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $19.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America upgraded MDU Resources Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $31.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on MDU Resources Group in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. They set a "hold" rating for the company.

MDU Resources Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MDU remained flat at $19.47 on Friday. 1,331,668 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,115,679. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $14.91 and a fifty-two week high of $30.52. The stock has a market cap of $3.97 billion, a PE ratio of 9.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.79. The company's 50 day moving average price is $23.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $24.72.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analysts' expectations of $969.17 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.29 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 1.13 EPS for the current year.

MDU Resources Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.67%. MDU Resources Group's payout ratio is currently 26.67%.

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.