MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) Short Interest Down 16.9% in January

MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 4,340,000 shares, a drop of 16.9% from the January 15th total of 5,220,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 2,070,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.1 days. Currently, 2.2% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MDU Resources Group news, Director Dennis W. Johnson purchased 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $16.64 per share, with a total value of $499,200.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 180,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,997,962.24. The trade was a 19.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MDU Resources Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MDU. Truist Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of MDU Resources Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $218,000. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 15,019 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $412,000 after buying an additional 1,033 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 169,263 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,640,000 after buying an additional 868 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MDU Resources Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Finally, Precedent Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in MDU Resources Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $389,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MDU shares. StockNews.com lowered MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. 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 target price for the company. Bank of America raised MDU Resources Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $31.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Siebert Williams Shank raised MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.00.

MDU Resources Group Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:MDU opened at $16.78 on Friday. MDU Resources Group has a 12-month low of $14.91 and a 12-month high of $30.52. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $18.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.26. The company has a market capitalization of $3.42 billion, a PE ratio of 12.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.80. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 research analysts predict that MDU Resources Group will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MDU Resources Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.68%.

MDU Resources Group Company 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.