Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Grows Stock Holdings in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU - Free Report) by 42.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 67,319 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 19,895 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in MDU Resources Group were worth $1,213,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Foundry Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MDU Resources Group during the third quarter worth $4,594,000. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in 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% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 115,907 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,089,000 after purchasing an additional 34,409 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,082,468 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $57,080,000 after buying an additional 101,955 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 21.3% during the 4th quarter. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 81,626 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,471,000 after buying an additional 14,360 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at MDU Resources Group

In other news, Director Dennis W. Johnson purchased 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $16.64 per share, for a total transaction of $499,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 180,166 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,997,962.24. This trade represents a 19.98 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.59% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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MDU Resources Group Price Performance

NYSE:MDU traded down $0.27 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $16.79. 3,852,748 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,398,518. The firm has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.81. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $12.74 and a 52 week high of $20.39. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $17.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

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

MDU Resources Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors 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 3.10%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. MDU Resources Group's dividend payout ratio is 37.68%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MDU. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of MDU Resources Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $18.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MDU Resources Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MDU Resources Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.