Aurora Investment Counsel Has $878,000 Stock Position in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

Aurora Investment Counsel decreased its position in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU - Free Report) by 60.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,048 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 48,934 shares during the period. Aurora Investment Counsel's holdings in MDU Resources Group were worth $878,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 233,732 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,407,000 after acquiring an additional 6,165 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in MDU Resources Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $83,000. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 41,657 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,142,000 after acquiring an additional 2,931 shares in the last quarter. ING Groep NV raised its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 51.2% in the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 257,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $7,044,000 after acquiring an additional 87,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 22.0% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,519 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $151,000 after acquiring an additional 997 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.44% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MDU shares. StockNews.com started coverage on MDU Resources Group in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Siebert Williams Shank upgraded 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. Finally, Bank of America upgraded MDU Resources Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $31.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th.

MDU Resources Group Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE MDU opened at $18.78 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $3.83 billion, a PE ratio of 9.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.76. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a one year low of $14.91 and a one year high of $30.52. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $25.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $25.24. 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 (NYSE:MDU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 analyst estimates of $969.17 million. MDU Resources Group had a return on equity of 11.24% and a net margin of 8.92%. MDU Resources Group's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.29 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 1.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MDU Resources Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, December 12th will be given 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 2.77%. MDU Resources Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.

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