TD Cowen Initiates Coverage on MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU)

Equities research analysts at TD Cowen began coverage on shares of MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The firm set a “hold” rating and a $20.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock. TD Cowen’s price target suggests a potential upside of 4.36% from the company’s current price.

MDU has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded MDU Resources Group from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Zacks Research downgraded MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $20.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Finally, Cowen initiated coverage on MDU Resources Group in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $19.00.

MDU Resources Group Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of MDU opened at $19.17 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $17.04 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $16.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.74. MDU Resources Group has a 52-week low of $14.91 and a 52-week high of $30.52. The company has a market cap of $3.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.08, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.70.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $351.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $315.67 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.32 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. MDU Resources Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 0.880-0.950 EPS. Analysts predict that MDU Resources Group will post 0.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at MDU Resources Group

In other MDU Resources Group news, CFO Jason L. Vollmer bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $16.07 per share, with a total value of $80,350.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer owned 344,548 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,536,886.36. The trade was a 1.47% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 179.0% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,518 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 974 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of MDU Resources Group during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 94.5% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,647 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 241.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,843 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 1,304 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Country Trust Bank bought a new position in shares of MDU Resources Group during the second quarter worth about $33,000. 71.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About MDU Resources Group

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.