Principal Financial Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU – Get Rating) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 797,313 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,740 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in MDU Resources Group were worth $24,190,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MDU. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 12.5% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,468,160 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $415,454,000 after acquiring an additional 1,716,930 shares in the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of MDU Resources Group during the third quarter worth approximately $21,385,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 55.2% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,852,604 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $49,372,000 after acquiring an additional 659,078 shares in the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC raised its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 6,656.0% during the third quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 521,564 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $14,265,000 after acquiring an additional 513,844 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 98.0% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,030,450 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,461,000 after buying an additional 509,900 shares during the period. 70.83% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of MDU Resources Group in a research note on Tuesday, May 16th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock.

MDU Resources Group Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE MDU opened at $29.32 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $25.21 and a 52 week high of $32.53. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $29.47 and its 200 day moving average is $30.20. The company has a market cap of $5.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.93, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.75.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $0.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.38 billion. MDU Resources Group had a net margin of 5.13% and a return on equity of 11.25%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.16 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 2 earnings per share for the current year.

MDU Resources Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, July 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 13th will be issued a $0.2225 dividend. This represents a $0.89 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 12th. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.37%.

MDU Resources Group Profile

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MDU Resources Group, Inc engages in the provision of natural resource products and related services to energy and transportation infrastructure. It operates through the following business segments: Electric, Natural Gas Distribution, Pipeline and Midstream, Construction Materials and Contracting, Construction Services, and Other.