ExodusPoint Capital Management LP Takes $2.12 Million Position in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

ExodusPoint Capital Management LP bought a new position in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 117,486 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,117,000. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP owned about 0.06% of MDU Resources Group at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of MDU Resources Group by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,997,452 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $414,414,000 after buying an additional 3,276,114 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of MDU Resources Group in the fourth quarter valued at $40,857,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in MDU Resources Group by 1,098.5% during the fourth quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 2,155,007 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $38,833,000 after buying an additional 1,975,200 shares in the last quarter. Pertento Partners LLP grew its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 90.3% during the fourth quarter. Pertento Partners LLP now owns 2,990,144 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $53,882,000 after acquiring an additional 1,419,118 shares during the period. Finally, Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC raised its position in MDU Resources Group by 300.1% in the fourth quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 691,993 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $12,470,000 after acquiring an additional 519,029 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.44% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on MDU Resources Group in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a "hold" rating and a $18.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of MDU Resources Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $21.00.

MDU Resources Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MDU traded up $0.14 during trading on Monday, hitting $16.64. 64,328 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,515,281. The company has a market capitalization of $3.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.68. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $12.99 and a 1-year high of $20.39. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $16.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.15.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MDU Resources Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were given 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 yield of 3.13%. MDU Resources Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Dennis W. Johnson acquired 30,000 shares of MDU Resources Group stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $16.64 per share, with a total value of $499,200.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 180,166 shares in the company, valued at $2,997,962.24. This represents a 19.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

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.