Foundry Partners LLC Invests $4.59 Million in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new stake in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund acquired 167,587 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,594,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MDU. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in MDU Resources Group by 2.7% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 233,732 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,407,000 after buying an additional 6,165 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MDU Resources Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $83,000. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 41,657 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,142,000 after acquiring an additional 2,931 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV boosted its position in shares of MDU Resources Group by 51.2% during the 3rd quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 257,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,044,000 after purchasing an additional 87,000 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 22.0% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 5,519 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $151,000 after purchasing an additional 997 shares during the last quarter. 71.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on MDU shares. Bank of America upgraded MDU Resources Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $31.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Siebert Williams Shank raised MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on MDU Resources Group in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company.

MDU Resources Group Stock Up 2.6 %

MDU Resources Group stock opened at $19.28 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $25.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.19. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $14.91 and a twelve month high of $30.52. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.01. MDU Resources Group had a return on equity of 11.24% and a net margin of 8.92%. The business had revenue of $1.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $969.17 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.29 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 1.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MDU Resources Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 12th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.67%.

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.