Sterling Capital Management LLC Raises Stake in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU - Free Report) by 26.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 110,562 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 22,834 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC owned 0.05% of MDU Resources Group worth $1,992,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,997,452 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $414,414,000 after acquiring an additional 3,276,114 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,719,543 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $101,978,000 after purchasing an additional 65,433 shares during the last quarter. Pertento Partners LLP boosted its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 90.3% in the 4th quarter. Pertento Partners LLP now owns 2,990,144 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $53,882,000 after buying an additional 1,419,118 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in MDU Resources Group in the fourth quarter worth $40,857,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in MDU Resources Group by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,179,357 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $39,272,000 after buying an additional 96,889 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 71.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at MDU Resources Group

In other news, Director Dennis W. Johnson purchased 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 acquisition, the director now directly owns 180,166 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 hyperlink. 0.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

MDU Resources Group Stock Performance

NYSE MDU traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $16.78. 967,855 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,510,962. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $13.09 and a 1 year high of $20.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.15. The company 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. The business's 50 day moving average is $16.70 and its 200-day moving average is $19.28.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MDU Resources Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 presently 37.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MDU has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of MDU Resources Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of MDU Resources Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $18.00 price objective on the stock. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, MDU Resources Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $21.00.

MDU Resources Group 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.