1,063 Shares in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) Purchased by Atlas Capital Advisors LLC

Atlas Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,063 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $27,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 29.2% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 280,244 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,062,000 after acquiring an additional 63,403 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 17.0% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 401,619 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,121,000 after buying an additional 58,220 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of MDU Resources Group by 58.2% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 54,111 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,364,000 after buying an additional 19,916 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of MDU Resources Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,198,000. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in MDU Resources Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,022,000. 71.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on MDU shares. StockNews.com lowered MDU Resources Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Argus upgraded shares of MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, May 20th.

MDU Resources Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MDU opened at $25.69 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.98, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.43. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a one year low of $18.04 and a one year high of $27.30. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $25.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.43.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.06 billion. MDU Resources Group had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 11.42%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.29 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 1.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MDU Resources Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, September 12th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 12th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. This is a boost from MDU Resources Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.22%.

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.