LPL Financial LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in MDU Resources Group, Inc. $MDU

LPL Financial LLC trimmed its position in shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) by 1.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 151,869 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,801 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.07% of MDU Resources Group worth $2,568,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in MDU Resources Group by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 8,186,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $147,530,000 after acquiring an additional 467,355 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in MDU Resources Group by 132.0% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,999,856 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $126,137,000 after acquiring an additional 3,982,783 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in MDU Resources Group by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,276,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,533,000 after acquiring an additional 162,026 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in MDU Resources Group by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 1,400,575 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,238,000 after purchasing an additional 76,264 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hood River Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in MDU Resources Group by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC now owns 1,108,137 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $19,969,000 after purchasing an additional 3,529 shares during the last quarter. 71.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MDU Resources Group Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of MDU stock opened at $16.22 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $3.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.30, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.73. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $14.91 and a twelve month high of $30.52. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $16.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $16.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.13 by ($0.06). MDU Resources Group had a net margin of 8.25% and a return on equity of 8.29%. The company had revenue of $351.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $315.67 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.32 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

MDU Resources Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. This is a positive change from MDU Resources Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wall Street Zen cut shares of MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th.

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.