Friedenthal Financial Purchases Shares of 43,148 MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

Friedenthal Financial bought a new position in shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 43,148 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $778,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in MDU Resources Group by 8.1% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,491,990 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $188,049,000 after purchasing an additional 563,424 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $174,713,000 after buying an additional 114,719 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its position in shares of MDU Resources Group by 40.9% during the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 6,048,344 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $151,813,000 after buying an additional 1,756,530 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of MDU Resources Group by 1.8% during 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 buying an additional 65,433 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 5.1% in 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 acquiring an additional 101,955 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.44% of the company's stock.

MDU Resources Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MDU traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $17.75. The company had a trading volume of 1,096,942 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,675,606. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market cap of $3.62 billion, a PE ratio of 9.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.81. The business's 50 day moving average price is $18.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $23.49. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $14.91 and a 1-year high of $30.52.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.01. MDU Resources Group had a net margin of 8.92% and a return on equity of 11.24%. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $969.17 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.29 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 1.13 EPS for the current year.

MDU Resources Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, December 12th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. MDU Resources Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on MDU shares. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of MDU Resources Group in a report on Friday, January 3rd. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of MDU Resources Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a "hold" rating and a $18.00 target price on the stock. Siebert Williams Shank upgraded 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. Finally, Bank of America raised MDU Resources Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $31.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.