Covestor Ltd Trims Stock Holdings in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

Covestor Ltd lowered its stake in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) by 36.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,233 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,147 shares during the quarter. Covestor Ltd’s holdings in MDU Resources Group were worth $182,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MDU. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new stake in MDU Resources Group during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $319,000. Managed Asset Portfolios LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 0.7% in the first quarter. Managed Asset Portfolios LLC now owns 1,148,436 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,941,000 after buying an additional 8,318 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its stake in MDU Resources Group by 29.2% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 280,244 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,062,000 after acquiring an additional 63,403 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Value Partners LLC increased its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 0.4% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in MDU Resources Group in the 1st quarter worth $249,000. 71.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MDU has been the topic of several research reports. Argus raised MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, May 20th. StockNews.com raised MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th.

MDU Resources Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MDU traded up $0.05 on Tuesday, reaching $26.70. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 285,958 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,224,776. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $25.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $23.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.43. The company has a market cap of $5.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.39, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.77. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.04 and a 52-week high of $26.88.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.33 billion. MDU Resources Group had a return on equity of 11.42% and a net margin of 10.74%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 1.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MDU Resources Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 13th were given a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 13th. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.37%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Rob L. Johnson purchased 36,291 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $25.46 per share, for a total transaction of $923,968.86. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 41,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,067,639.64. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.