Lee Danner & Bass Inc. Purchases New Position in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $77,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 32,739 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $896,000 after purchasing an additional 641 shares during the period. Ingalls & Snyder LLC boosted its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 39,335 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 850 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 164.4% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 914 shares during the period. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 99.6% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 1,834 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 915 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of MDU Resources Group in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $18.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, MDU Resources Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Dennis W. Johnson acquired 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $16.64 per share, for a total transaction of $499,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 180,166 shares in the company, valued at $2,997,962.24. This trade represents a 19.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.59% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

MDU Resources Group Stock Performance

Shares of MDU Resources Group stock opened at $16.79 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $17.24 and a 200-day moving average of $20.71. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $12.74 and a 1-year high of $20.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a PE ratio of 12.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.81.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.03. MDU Resources Group had a net margin of 7.31% and a return on equity of 10.20%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MDU Resources Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio is 37.68%.

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.