MDU Resources Group, Inc. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $0.13 (NYSE:MDU)

MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 13th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a dividend of 0.13 per share by the utilities provider on Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%.

MDU Resources Group has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 15.8% per year over the last three years. MDU Resources Group has a payout ratio of 50.5% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect MDU Resources Group to earn $1.12 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.52 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 46.4%.

MDU Resources Group Price Performance

Shares of MDU stock opened at $16.90 on Friday. MDU Resources Group has a fifty-two week low of $14.91 and a fifty-two week high of $30.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.25, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.80. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $18.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.30.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.03. MDU Resources Group had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 7.31%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that MDU Resources Group will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Dennis W. Johnson acquired 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $16.64 per share, for a total transaction of $499,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 180,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,997,962.24. This trade represents a 19.98 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on MDU Resources Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “hold” rating and a $18.00 price target on the stock. Siebert Williams Shank upgraded shares of 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. Bank of America upgraded shares of MDU Resources Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $31.00 to $17.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.00.

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.