Sasco Capital Inc. CT Has $32.45 Million Holdings in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

Sasco Capital Inc. CT reduced its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) by 14.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,183,851 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 195,560 shares during the quarter. MDU Resources Group comprises approximately 4.9% of Sasco Capital Inc. CT’s holdings, making the stock its largest position. Sasco Capital Inc. CT’s holdings in MDU Resources Group were worth $32,449,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MDU. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC increased its position in shares of 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 valued at $151,813,000 after purchasing an additional 1,756,530 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 30.7% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 4,158,224 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $104,371,000 after acquiring an additional 977,487 shares in the last quarter. Hood River Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of MDU Resources Group in the second quarter worth $24,372,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in MDU Resources Group by 8.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 7,491,990 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $188,049,000 after acquiring an additional 563,424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 36.6% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,745,980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $43,824,000 after purchasing an additional 467,465 shares during the last quarter. 71.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

MDU Resources Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MDU opened at $18.60 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.54, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $25.47 and its 200-day simple moving average is $25.33. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $969.17 million. MDU Resources Group had a net margin of 8.92% and a return on equity of 11.24%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.29 earnings per share. Analysts expect that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 1.13 EPS for the current year.

MDU Resources Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, December 12th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 12th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.67%.

About MDU Resources Group

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.