MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) Shares Bought by State of Alaska Department of Revenue

State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU - Free Report) by 391.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 115,874 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 92,289 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue owned approximately 0.06% of MDU Resources Group worth $2,088,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 1.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,344,185 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $174,713,000 after acquiring an additional 114,719 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,719,543 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $101,978,000 after acquiring an additional 65,433 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 1,098.5% in the fourth quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 2,155,007 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $38,833,000 after purchasing an additional 1,975,200 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 5.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 101,955 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 1.9% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,782,538 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $48,859,000 after purchasing an additional 33,982 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Dennis W. Johnson acquired 30,000 shares of MDU Resources Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $16.64 per share, for a total transaction 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 trade represents a 19.98 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on MDU. Bank of America upgraded MDU Resources Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $31.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com downgraded MDU Resources Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on MDU Resources Group in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $18.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Siebert Williams Shank upgraded MDU Resources Group from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $19.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $21.00.

MDU Resources Group Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of MDU Resources Group stock traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $16.78. The stock had a trading volume of 1,497,005 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,068,337. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $14.91 and a 1 year high of $30.52. The firm 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 firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $18.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $22.26.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current year.

MDU Resources Group Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.10%. MDU Resources Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.68%.

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.