MDU Resources Group, Inc. $MDU Shares Bought by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) by 16.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 797,596 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 112,249 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in MDU Resources Group were worth $15,569,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 46,785 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $913,000 after buying an additional 710 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in MDU Resources Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $195,000. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC acquired a new position in MDU Resources Group in the 4th quarter valued at $243,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 51.3% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 24,183 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $472,000 after purchasing an additional 8,200 shares during the period. Finally, Praxis Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 57.0% during the 4th quarter. Praxis Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,225 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $356,000 after purchasing an additional 6,615 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Loop Capital set a $21.00 price objective on MDU Resources Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on MDU Resources Group in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $22.00 price target on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MDU Resources Group in a report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of MDU Resources Group to $22.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MDU Resources Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.75.

MDU Resources Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MDU opened at $22.49 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.52 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.69. The company has a market cap of $4.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.44, a PEG ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.78. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a one year low of $15.76 and a one year high of $22.98.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.42 by ($0.03). MDU Resources Group had a return on equity of 6.82% and a net margin of 10.47%.The firm had revenue of $605.98 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $688.34 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. MDU Resources Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.930-1.000 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.98 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, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 11th. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.87%.

MDU Resources Group Profile

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.