MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $21.50 and last traded at $21.4640, with a volume of 14603 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $21.40.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on MDU. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of MDU Resources Group in a report on Thursday, January 15th. Loop Capital set a $21.00 price objective on shares of MDU Resources Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of MDU Resources Group in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.00.

MDU Resources Group Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $4.54 billion, a PE ratio of 23.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $20.68 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.01.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.37. The company had revenue of $534.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $560.72 million. MDU Resources Group had a net margin of 10.15% and a return on equity of 6.98%. MDU Resources Group’s revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.90 EPS. MDU Resources Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.930-1.000 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MDU Resources Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 12th were paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 12th. MDU Resources Group’s payout ratio is presently 60.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MDU Resources Group news, Director Charles M. Kelley acquired 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $20.84 per share, for a total transaction of $104,200.00. Following the purchase, the director owned 8,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $167,366.04. The trade was a 164.96% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of MDU Resources Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MDU. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its stake in MDU Resources Group by 678.2% during the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 9,946,196 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $194,150,000 after acquiring an additional 8,668,137 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 2,442.7% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,436,521 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $86,601,000 after buying an additional 4,262,042 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC boosted its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 41.3% during the fourth quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 12,894,945 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $251,709,000 after buying an additional 3,766,737 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in MDU Resources Group during the fourth quarter worth $59,617,000. Finally, Yaupon Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in MDU Resources Group during the fourth quarter worth $23,424,000. 71.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About MDU Resources Group

MDU Resources Group, Inc is a diversified energy and services holding company headquartered in Bismarck, North Dakota. The company operates through two primary segments: Utilities and Construction Services and Pipelines & Midstream. Serving a broad geographic footprint across the upper Midwest and Pacific Northwest, MDU provides essential energy distribution and infrastructure services to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

The Utilities segment delivers electric and natural gas distribution services in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Kansas, Wisconsin, Michigan and Washington.