MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the seven brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $23.40.

Several brokerages have weighed in on MDU. Weiss Ratings cut shares of MDU Resources Group from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 28th. TD Cowen raised their target price on MDU Resources Group to $22.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 15th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on MDU Resources Group in a report on Monday, July 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $25.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised MDU Resources Group from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $27.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 6th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MDU Resources Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MDU. Corient Private Wealth LP raised its stake in MDU Resources Group by 25.4% in the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 68,062 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,444,000 after buying an additional 13,776 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 1,915.6% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 4,752,185 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $100,794,000 after purchasing an additional 4,516,412 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of MDU Resources Group by 16.1% during the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,976 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 1,659 shares in the last quarter. Syon Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of MDU Resources Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $236,000. Finally, iSAM Funds UK Ltd purchased a new stake in MDU Resources Group in the second quarter worth $910,000. 71.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MDU Resources Group Stock Performance

Shares of MDU stock opened at $19.59 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.62, a PEG ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.67. MDU Resources Group has a fifty-two week low of $15.76 and a fifty-two week high of $22.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 0.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $20.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.05.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.01. MDU Resources Group had a net margin of 10.75% and a return on equity of 6.89%. The firm had revenue of $375.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $396.56 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.07 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. MDU Resources Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.930-1.000 EPS. Analysts expect that MDU Resources Group will post 0.98 earnings per share for the current year.

MDU Resources Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.145 per share. This represents a $0.58 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 10th. This is a positive change from MDU Resources Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. MDU Resources Group’s payout ratio is presently 61.05%.

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.