Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU - Free Report) in a research note released on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm issued a hold rating and a $18.00 price objective on the utilities provider's stock.
MDU has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Siebert Williams Shank raised shares of MDU Resources Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $19.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on MDU Resources Group in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. They set a "hold" rating for the company. Finally, Bank of America upgraded MDU Resources Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lowered their target price for the company 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 issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MDU Resources Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $21.00.
Get Our Latest Research Report on MDU
MDU Resources Group Stock Up 0.2 %
NYSE:MDU traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $18.04. 1,299,569 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,892,974. The firm has a market cap of $3.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.25, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.81. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $18.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. MDU Resources Group has a fifty-two week low of $14.91 and a fifty-two week high of $30.52.
MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $969.17 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.29 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that MDU Resources Group will post 1.13 earnings per share 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 issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 12th. MDU Resources Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 26.67%.
Institutional Trading of MDU Resources Group
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 32.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 855,493 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $23,449,000 after acquiring an additional 209,042 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 worth $101,978,000 after buying an additional 65,433 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 87,022 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,386,000 after buying an additional 6,264 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in MDU Resources Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $396,000. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in MDU Resources Group in the 3rd quarter worth $619,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.44% of the company's stock.
About MDU Resources Group
(
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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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