Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Sells 1,780 Shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lowered its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) by 2.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 66,039 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,780 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in MDU Resources Group were worth $1,810,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of MDU Resources Group by 8.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,491,990 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $188,049,000 after purchasing an additional 563,424 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in MDU Resources Group by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,344,185 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $174,713,000 after purchasing an additional 114,719 shares during the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC lifted its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 40.9% during the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 6,048,344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $151,813,000 after buying an additional 1,756,530 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in MDU Resources Group by 30.7% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,158,224 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $104,371,000 after buying an additional 977,487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,719,543 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $101,978,000 after buying an additional 65,433 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Siebert Williams Shank raised MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Bank of America raised shares of MDU Resources Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $31.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of MDU Resources Group in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. They set a “hold” rating for the company.

MDU Resources Group Price Performance

Shares of MDU Resources Group stock opened at $18.86 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $22.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.51. The stock has a market cap of $3.84 billion, a PE ratio of 9.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $14.91 and a 12 month high of $30.52.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $969.17 million. MDU Resources Group had a return on equity of 11.24% and a net margin of 8.92%. The company’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.29 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 1.13 EPS for the current year.

MDU Resources Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 12th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 12th. MDU Resources Group’s payout ratio is presently 26.67%.

MDU Resources Group 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.