Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Has $2.66 Million Position in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU - Free Report) by 905.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 147,816 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 133,109 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board owned approximately 0.07% of MDU Resources Group worth $2,664,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MDU. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in shares of MDU Resources Group during the 4th quarter worth about $778,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in MDU Resources Group by 42.2% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 115,907 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,089,000 after acquiring an additional 34,409 shares during the last quarter. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 21.3% during 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in MDU Resources Group by 32.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 855,493 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $23,449,000 after purchasing an additional 209,042 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Preferred LLC bought a new stake in MDU Resources Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,691,000. Institutional investors own 71.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at MDU Resources Group

In other MDU Resources Group news, Director Dennis W. Johnson purchased 30,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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 acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MDU has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of MDU Resources Group in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $18.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com cut MDU Resources Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $21.00.

MDU Resources Group Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of MDU Resources Group stock traded up $0.03 on Friday, hitting $16.78. The company had a trading volume of 967,855 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,513,024. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $13.23 and a twelve month high of $20.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $16.70 and a 200-day moving average of $19.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.68.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.03. MDU Resources Group had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 7.31%. Research analysts predict that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current 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. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. MDU Resources Group's dividend payout ratio 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.