Portolan Capital Management LLC Has $12.21 Million Stock Holdings in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

Portolan Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) by 69.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 445,288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 183,274 shares during the quarter. Portolan Capital Management LLC’s holdings in MDU Resources Group were worth $12,205,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MDU. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 96,492 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,432,000 after buying an additional 6,237 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC increased its position in MDU Resources Group by 39.9% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 34,707 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $871,000 after acquiring an additional 9,899 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC increased its position in MDU Resources Group by 12.3% during the second quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 168,395 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,227,000 after acquiring an additional 18,463 shares during the period. Register Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in MDU Resources Group by 10.2% during the second quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC now owns 155,203 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,896,000 after acquiring an additional 14,421 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in MDU Resources Group during the second quarter worth about $2,198,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on MDU. Bank of America raised shares of MDU Resources Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $31.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of MDU Resources Group in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Siebert Williams Shank raised 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 research report on Monday, November 4th.

MDU Resources Group Price Performance

MDU stock opened at $19.86 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $14.91 and a 12 month high of $30.52. The firm has a market cap of $4.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.79. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $23.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $24.85.

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

MDU Resources Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 12th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 12th. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.67%.

MDU Resources Group 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.