MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) Director Purchases $499,200.00 in Stock

MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) Director Dennis W. Johnson bought 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $16.64 per share, for a total transaction of $499,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 180,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,997,962.24. This trade represents a 19.98 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

MDU Resources Group Stock Performance

Shares of MDU Resources Group stock opened at $16.98 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $3.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.80. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $18.19 and its 200-day moving average is $22.41. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a one year low of $14.91 and a one year high of $30.52.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.03. MDU Resources Group had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 7.31%. Equities analysts predict that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MDU Resources Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, December 12th were given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 12th. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.68%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MDU Resources Group

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MDU. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of MDU Resources Group in the third quarter valued at about $2,234,000. Foundry Partners LLC bought a new position in MDU Resources Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,594,000. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in shares of MDU Resources Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $778,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,082,468 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,080,000 after purchasing an additional 101,955 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 81,626 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,471,000 after buying an additional 14,360 shares during the last quarter. 71.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on MDU shares. Bank of America raised MDU Resources Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $31.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Siebert Williams Shank raised MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on MDU Resources Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $18.00 price objective for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.00.

MDU Resources Group Company 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.