American Century Companies Inc. Purchases 977,487 Shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU - Free Report) by 30.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,158,224 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 977,487 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 2.04% of MDU Resources Group worth $104,371,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. United Services Automobile Association boosted its stake in MDU Resources Group by 6.0% during the second quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 15,553 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $390,000 after buying an additional 878 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC bought a new position in MDU Resources Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $276,000. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in MDU Resources Group by 8.9% during the second quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 17,033 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $428,000 after buying an additional 1,392 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in MDU Resources Group by 4.2% during the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 65,063 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,633,000 after buying an additional 2,641 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in MDU Resources Group by 1.9% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 54,173 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,360,000 after buying an additional 1,010 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.44% of the company's stock.

MDU Resources Group Trading Up 7.2 %

MDU stock traded up $1.83 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $27.41. 2,764,173 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,170,662. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.04 and a 52-week high of $27.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.22. The business has a 50 day moving average of $25.45 and a 200-day moving average of $24.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.77.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.11. MDU Resources Group had a return on equity of 11.29% and a net margin of 9.25%. The business had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.06 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.29 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MDU Resources Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 12th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. This is an increase from MDU Resources Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 12th. MDU Resources Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 21.37%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MDU shares. Argus raised MDU Resources Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $30.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, May 20th. StockNews.com lowered MDU Resources Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th.

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.