MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s Why

MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) saw strong trading volume on Thursday . 3,460,552 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 87% from the previous session’s volume of 1,847,297 shares.The stock last traded at $21.7210 and had previously closed at $22.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MDU shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of 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. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of MDU Resources Group to $22.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Loop Capital set a $21.00 target price on shares of MDU Resources Group in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MDU Resources Group in a research report on Friday, April 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MDU Resources Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.75.

MDU Resources Group Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $4.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.73, a P/E/G ratio of 4.11 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. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.73.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last issued 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 business had revenue of $605.98 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $688.34 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.40 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. MDU Resources Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.930-1.000 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MDU Resources Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, June 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 11th. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.87%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MDU Resources Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Arkadios Wealth Advisors grew its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 1.7% in the first quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 27,316 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $566,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. Smith Moore & CO. raised its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 12,855 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $251,000 after acquiring an additional 535 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 2.5% in the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 22,414 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $408,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,748 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 556 shares during the period. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 5.3% in the third quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 11,098 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $198,000 after purchasing an additional 560 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.44% of the company’s stock.

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.