Raymond James & Associates Reduces Stock Position in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

Raymond James & Associates lowered its position in shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU - Free Report) by 34.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 121,565 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 64,062 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates owned about 0.06% of MDU Resources Group worth $3,051,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MDU. TFO Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in MDU Resources Group by 16,070.0% during the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,617 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 1,607 shares during the period. Tompkins Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 22.2% during the first quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 4,404 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of MDU Resources Group by 32.9% in the 1st quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC now owns 5,920 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $149,000 after purchasing an additional 1,465 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 129.3% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 8,977 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $178,000 after buying an additional 5,062 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IVC Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in MDU Resources Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Institutional investors own 71.44% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded MDU Resources Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Argus upgraded shares of MDU Resources Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $30.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 20th.

MDU Resources Group Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of MDU traded up $0.51 on Friday, hitting $25.69. 1,082,306 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 901,062. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a one year low of $18.04 and a one year high of $27.30. The company has a market capitalization of $5.24 billion, a PE ratio of 10.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $25.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.22.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.32 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 analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. MDU Resources Group had a return on equity of 11.29% and a net margin of 9.25%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.29 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MDU Resources Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 12th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. This is a boost from MDU Resources Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. MDU Resources Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 21.37%.

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.