MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

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 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of MDU Resources Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a "hold" rating and a $18.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of MDU Resources Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $31.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MDU Resources Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $21.00.

MDU Resources Group Price Performance

MDU stock traded down $0.20 during trading on Thursday, hitting $16.50. The stock had a trading volume of 645,126 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,981,839. The company's 50 day moving average price is $17.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.92. MDU Resources Group has a 1-year low of $14.91 and a 1-year high of $30.52. The stock has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.15.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.03. MDU Resources Group had a net margin of 7.31% and a return on equity of 10.20%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that MDU Resources Group will post 0.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MDU Resources Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. MDU Resources Group's payout ratio is currently 37.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Dennis W. Johnson purchased 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $16.64 per share, for a total transaction of $499,200.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 180,166 shares in the company, valued at $2,997,962.24. The trade was a 19.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MDU Resources Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of MDU Resources Group by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,997,452 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $414,414,000 after acquiring an additional 3,276,114 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of MDU Resources Group by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,186,994 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $147,530,000 after acquiring an additional 467,355 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of MDU Resources Group by 132.0% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,999,856 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $126,137,000 after acquiring an additional 3,982,783 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of MDU Resources Group by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,344,185 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $174,713,000 after acquiring an additional 114,719 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 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 acquiring an additional 65,433 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.44% of the company's stock.

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.