MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Wells Fargo & Company

Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

MDU has been the topic of several other reports. TD Cowen increased their target price on MDU Resources Group to $22.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MDU Resources Group in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of MDU Resources Group in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $22.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.40.

MDU Resources Group Trading Up 1.5%

NYSE:MDU opened at $21.29 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $4.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.67. MDU Resources Group has a one year low of $15.76 and a one year high of $22.98. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.01.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $605.98 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $688.34 million. MDU Resources Group had a net margin of 10.47% and a return on equity of 6.82%. The company’s revenue was down 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.40 earnings per share. MDU Resources Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 0.930-1.000 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that MDU Resources Group will post 0.98 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MDU Resources Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 11th were issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, June 11th. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio is 60.87%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MDU Resources Group

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 678.2% during the 4th quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 9,946,196 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $194,150,000 after buying an additional 8,668,137 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in MDU Resources Group by 2,442.7% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,436,521 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $86,601,000 after purchasing an additional 4,262,042 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC raised its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 41.3% during the 4th quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 12,894,945 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $251,709,000 after purchasing an additional 3,766,737 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of MDU Resources Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $59,617,000. Finally, Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of MDU Resources Group in the first quarter valued at $52,457,000. 71.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.