Dennis W. Johnson Purchases 30,000 Shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) Stock

MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU - Get Free Report) Director Dennis W. Johnson purchased 30,000 shares of MDU Resources Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $16.64 per share, with a total value of $499,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 180,166 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,997,962.24. This represents a 19.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

MDU Resources Group Price Performance

NYSE:MDU traded up $0.07 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $16.90. The stock had a trading volume of 1,382,847 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,088,036. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.45 billion, a PE ratio of 12.25, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.80. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $14.91 and a 52 week high of $30.52. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $18.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.30. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.95 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. MDU Resources Group's payout ratio is currently 37.68%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MDU Resources Group

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of MDU Resources Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $2,234,000. Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new stake in MDU Resources Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,594,000. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in shares of MDU Resources Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $778,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 5.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,082,468 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $57,080,000 after acquiring 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 fourth quarter. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 81,626 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,471,000 after purchasing an additional 14,360 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MDU shares. Bank of America raised shares of MDU Resources Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $31.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of MDU Resources Group in a research note 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 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of MDU Resources Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $21.00.

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.