Hennessy Advisors Inc. Boosts Holdings in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) by 1,098.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,155,007 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,975,200 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned about 1.06% of MDU Resources Group worth $38,833,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 23.9% in the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,142 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 413 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in MDU Resources Group by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 32,739 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $896,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 158.9% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,196 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 734 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC raised its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 3.5% in the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 24,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $609,000 after purchasing an additional 817 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ingalls & Snyder LLC raised its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 2.2% in the third quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 39,335 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 850 shares during the last quarter. 71.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MDU Resources Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MDU opened at $18.40 on Friday. 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 capitalization of $3.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $18.64 and a 200 day moving average of $23.37.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $969.17 million. MDU Resources Group had a return on equity of 11.24% and a net margin of 8.92%. MDU Resources Group’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.29 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current year.

MDU Resources Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, December 12th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.83%. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MDU has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on MDU Resources Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “hold” rating and a $18.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of MDU Resources Group in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Siebert Williams Shank raised shares of MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of MDU Resources Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $31.00 to $17.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.00.

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.