River Road Asset Management LLC Sells 1,438,279 Shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

River Road Asset Management LLC cut its position in shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU - Free Report) by 74.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 482,899 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 1,438,279 shares during the quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.24% of MDU Resources Group worth $13,236,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MDU. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 23.9% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,142 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 413 shares during the last quarter. BOKF NA raised its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. BOKF NA now owns 14,794 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $377,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC boosted its position in MDU Resources Group by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 34,869 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $875,000 after buying an additional 606 shares during the period. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp grew its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 176,622 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,451,000 after acquiring an additional 708 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hudson Value Partners LLC increased its position in shares of MDU Resources Group by 0.4% in the first quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC now owns 210,808 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,312,000 after acquiring an additional 782 shares during the period. 71.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MDU Resources Group Stock Up 3.0 %

MDU Resources Group stock traded up $0.49 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $16.95. 5,129,288 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,751,185. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a one year low of $14.91 and a one year high of $30.52. The company has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a PE ratio of 8.48, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.76. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $26.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. MDU Resources Group had a return on equity of 11.29% and a net margin of 9.25%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.29 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 1.57 EPS for the current year.

MDU Resources Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 21st were paid a dividend of $12.875 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 1st. MDU Resources Group's dividend payout ratio is 26.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MDU shares. Bank of America upgraded shares of MDU Resources Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $31.00 to $17.00 in a report on Tuesday. 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 report on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on MDU Resources Group in a report on Tuesday. They set a "hold" rating for the company.

MDU Resources Group 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.