Ingalls & Snyder LLC Sells 16,990 Shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

Ingalls & Snyder LLC decreased its position in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU - Free Report) by 43.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,345 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 16,990 shares during the period. Ingalls & Snyder LLC's holdings in MDU Resources Group were worth $403,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 19.4% during 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 in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 2.0% during 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 in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 158.9% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,196 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 734 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 169,263 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,640,000 after purchasing an additional 868 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust raised its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 10,257 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $281,000 after purchasing an additional 890 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at MDU Resources Group

In other MDU Resources Group news, Director Dennis W. Johnson purchased 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $16.64 per share, for a total transaction of $499,200.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 180,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,997,962.24. The trade was a 19.98 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MDU. Bank of America upgraded shares of MDU Resources Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their price target for the company from $31.00 to $17.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of MDU Resources Group in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a "hold" rating and a $18.00 price target on the stock. Siebert Williams Shank upgraded shares of MDU Resources Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $19.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. 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 issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $21.00.

MDU Resources Group Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of MDU Resources Group stock traded down $0.12 during trading on Monday, reaching $16.78. The stock had a trading volume of 1,497,005 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,091,385. The company has a market capitalization of $3.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.80. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $17.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.12. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $14.91 and a 52 week high of $30.52. 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 (NYSE:MDU - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 7.31%. Sell-side analysts predict that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MDU Resources Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. MDU Resources Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.