OneAscent Financial Services LLC Decreases Holdings in MDU Resources Group, Inc. $MDU

OneAscent Financial Services LLC lowered its holdings in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) by 66.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,166 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 34,661 shares during the quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC’s holdings in MDU Resources Group were worth $306,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

MDU Resources Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MDU opened at $20.55 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $20.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $18.58. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $15.04 and a 1-year high of $21.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $4.20 billion, a PE ratio of 24.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.75.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.07 by $0.02. MDU Resources Group had a net margin of 9.02% and a return on equity of 6.81%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.32 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. MDU Resources Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.900-0.950 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

MDU Resources Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, December 11th were given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 11th. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.47%.

MDU Resources Group Company 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.