Riverwater Partners LLC Raises Stake in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

Riverwater Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 50,714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,151 shares during the quarter. Riverwater Partners LLC’s holdings in MDU Resources Group were worth $914,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MDU. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in MDU Resources Group by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,997,452 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $414,414,000 after acquiring an additional 3,276,114 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of MDU Resources Group by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,344,185 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $174,713,000 after purchasing an additional 114,719 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,719,543 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $101,978,000 after purchasing an additional 65,433 shares during the period. Pertento Partners LLP raised its position in shares of MDU Resources Group by 90.3% in the fourth quarter. Pertento Partners LLP now owns 2,990,144 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $53,882,000 after buying an additional 1,419,118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in MDU Resources Group during the fourth quarter valued at $40,857,000. 71.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on MDU Resources Group in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $18.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.00.

Insider Transactions at MDU Resources Group

In related news, Director Dennis W. Johnson purchased 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $16.64 per share, with a total value of $499,200.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

MDU Resources Group Price Performance

Shares of MDU Resources Group stock opened at $16.04 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a PE ratio of 11.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.68. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $12.99 and a 12 month high of $20.39. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $16.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $20.13.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.03. MDU Resources Group had a net margin of 7.31% and a return on equity of 10.20%. Sell-side analysts forecast that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MDU Resources Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.68%.

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.