Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stock Position in MDU Resources Group, Inc. $MDU

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 980,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 27,485 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.48% of MDU Resources Group worth $17,456,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in MDU Resources Group by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 22,414 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 3.8% in the second quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC now owns 15,809 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $266,000 after buying an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its position in MDU Resources Group by 0.9% during the second quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 71,651 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,194,000 after acquiring an additional 606 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its stake in MDU Resources Group by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 26,280 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $468,000 after acquiring an additional 724 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boothbay Fund Management LLC grew its stake in MDU Resources Group by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC now owns 12,235 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $204,000 after acquiring an additional 742 shares in the last quarter. 71.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MDU shares. Zacks Research raised shares of MDU Resources Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 4th. TD Cowen started coverage on MDU Resources Group in a report on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $20.00 price target for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of MDU Resources Group in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on MDU Resources Group to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of MDU Resources Group in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.00.

MDU Resources Group Stock Performance

Shares of MDU Resources Group stock opened at $20.14 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $4.12 billion, a PE ratio of 21.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $15.04 and a 52 week high of $21.49. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $20.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $18.80.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37. MDU Resources Group had a return on equity of 7.00% and a net margin of 10.15%.The firm had revenue of $534.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $560.72 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.90 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. MDU Resources Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.930-1.000 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

MDU Resources Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, December 11th were issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 11th. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.22%.

MDU Resources Group Profile

MDU Resources Group, Inc is a diversified energy and services holding company headquartered in Bismarck, North Dakota. The company operates through two primary segments: Utilities and Construction Services and Pipelines & Midstream. Serving a broad geographic footprint across the upper Midwest and Pacific Northwest, MDU provides essential energy distribution and infrastructure services to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

The Utilities segment delivers electric and natural gas distribution services in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Kansas, Wisconsin, Michigan and Washington.