Friedenthal Financial Buys Shares of 43,148 MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 43,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $778,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MDU. V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in MDU Resources Group in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 158.9% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,196 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 734 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in MDU Resources Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in MDU Resources Group by 23.9% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,142 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 413 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in MDU Resources Group by 238.1% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,935 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 2,067 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.44% of the company’s stock.

MDU Resources Group Price Performance

Shares of MDU traded up $0.02 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $17.75. 1,094,818 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,619,574. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $14.91 and a 52 week high of $30.52. 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 50 day moving average of $18.52 and a 200-day moving average of $23.54. The stock has a market cap of $3.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.10, a PEG ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.81.

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

MDU Resources Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 12th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 12th. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio is 26.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of MDU Resources Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $31.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on MDU Resources Group in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on MDU Resources Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “hold” rating and a $18.00 target price for the company. Finally, Siebert Williams Shank raised MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price target on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.00.

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.