MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) Now Covered by StockNews.com

Equities research analysts at StockNews.com started coverage on shares of MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) in a research note issued on Wednesday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

MDU has been the subject of several other reports. Siebert Williams Shank upgraded shares of MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America upgraded shares of MDU Resources Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $31.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th.

MDU Resources Group Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of MDU opened at $18.55 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.51, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.46. MDU Resources Group has a twelve month low of $14.91 and a twelve month high of $30.52.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.32 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $969.17 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.29 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that MDU Resources Group will post 1.13 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of MDU Resources Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MDU. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 7.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 87,022 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,386,000 after buying an additional 6,264 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in shares of MDU Resources Group in the third quarter worth approximately $396,000. Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in shares of MDU Resources Group in the third quarter worth approximately $619,000. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 1.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,344,185 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $174,713,000 after buying an additional 114,719 shares during the last quarter. 71.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.