Moors & Cabot Inc. Sells 815 Shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

Moors & Cabot Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 41,198 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 815 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in MDU Resources Group were worth $1,129,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MDU. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 23.9% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,142 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 413 shares during the last quarter. BOKF NA increased its stake in MDU Resources Group by 4.1% in the first quarter. BOKF NA now owns 14,794 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $377,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 1.8% in the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 34,869 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $875,000 after purchasing an additional 606 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of MDU Resources Group by 158.9% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,196 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 734 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 24,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $609,000 after buying an additional 817 shares during the period. 71.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MDU Resources Group Stock Up 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE:MDU opened at $19.28 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $14.91 and a 52-week high of $30.52. The company has a market capitalization of $3.93 billion, a PE ratio of 9.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a fifty day moving average of $25.09 and a 200-day moving average of $25.19.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.01. MDU Resources Group had a net margin of 8.92% and a return on equity of 11.24%. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $969.17 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.29 earnings per share. MDU Resources Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 1.13 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MDU Resources Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, December 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.70%. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MDU. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of MDU Resources Group in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Siebert Williams Shank raised shares of MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Bank of America raised MDU Resources Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $31.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th.

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.