Hennessy Advisors Inc. Sells 177,600 Shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. lessened its position in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) by 8.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,977,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 177,600 shares during the period. MDU Resources Group makes up about 1.1% of Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Hennessy Advisors Inc. owned about 0.97% of MDU Resources Group worth $33,438,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in shares of MDU Resources Group by 74.5% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 98,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,777,000 after acquiring an additional 42,100 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of MDU Resources Group by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,114,019 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,926,000 after acquiring an additional 331,481 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its position in shares of MDU Resources Group by 99.6% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 1,834 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 915 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of MDU Resources Group by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 261,622 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,714,000 after acquiring an additional 34,851 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of MDU Resources Group by 27.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,747 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 812 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen raised shares of MDU Resources Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th.

MDU Resources Group Stock Down 1.9%

MDU Resources Group stock opened at $16.33 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $3.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.72. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $13.23 and a 1-year high of $20.39. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $674.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $653.13 million. MDU Resources Group had a net margin of 7.31% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MDU Resources Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 12th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.18%. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.31%.

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.