BNP Paribas Financial Markets Acquires 9,652 Shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) by 38.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 34,459 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,652 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in MDU Resources Group were worth $621,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in MDU Resources Group by 132.0% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,999,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $126,137,000 after purchasing an additional 3,982,783 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,997,452 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $414,414,000 after purchasing an additional 3,276,114 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of MDU Resources Group in the fourth quarter worth about $40,857,000. Pertento Partners LLP increased its stake in MDU Resources Group by 90.3% during the fourth quarter. Pertento Partners LLP now owns 2,990,144 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $53,882,000 after acquiring an additional 1,419,118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its stake in MDU Resources Group by 300.1% during the fourth quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 691,993 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,470,000 after acquiring an additional 519,029 shares during the last quarter. 71.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MDU Resources Group Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE MDU opened at $17.06 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.36, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $16.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.58. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.23 and a 52-week high of $20.39.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $674.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $653.13 million. MDU Resources Group had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 7.31%. MDU Resources Group’s quarterly revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.52 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

MDU Resources Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.05%. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.31%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised MDU Resources Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th.

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.