Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Buys New Holdings in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 57,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,133,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in MDU Resources Group by 50.1% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 2,265 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 756 shares in the last quarter. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in MDU Resources Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $66,000. Tompkins Financial Corp increased its position in MDU Resources Group by 89.7% in the 4th quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp now owns 3,604 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 1,704 shares in the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in MDU Resources Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $178,000. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in MDU Resources Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $182,000. 71.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded MDU Resources Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd.

MDU Resources Group Price Performance

MDU stock opened at $24.50 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.27. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.04 and a 52-week high of $25.78. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.57.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $1.14 billion during the quarter. MDU Resources Group had a return on equity of 8.84% and a net margin of 8.35%. Research analysts expect that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MDU Resources Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 14th were paid a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 13th. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. MDU Resources Group’s payout ratio is presently 24.51%.

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.