Independent Advisor Alliance Buys New Shares in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

Independent Advisor Alliance bought a new stake in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 10,308 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MDU. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 48.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,585,707 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $70,208,000 after buying an additional 1,174,799 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 49.6% in the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 2,931,590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $58,045,000 after buying an additional 972,540 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 194.3% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,397,095 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,355,000 after buying an additional 922,403 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 16.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,181,092 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $122,386,000 after buying an additional 858,100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sasco Capital Inc. CT grew its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 50.4% in the third quarter. Sasco Capital Inc. CT now owns 1,548,541 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,320,000 after buying an additional 518,820 shares in the last quarter. 71.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MDU has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Argus raised shares of MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $30.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com cut shares of MDU Resources Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd.

Insider Transactions at MDU Resources Group

In other news, insider Rob L. Johnson bought 36,291 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was bought at an average price of $25.46 per share, with a total value of $923,968.86. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider now owns 41,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,067,639.64. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

MDU Resources Group Trading Down 1.7 %

MDU stock opened at $25.36 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 1.37. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $24.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $21.49. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a one year low of $18.04 and a one year high of $25.99. The stock has a market cap of $5.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.78.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.05. MDU Resources Group had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 11.42%. The firm had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 15.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

MDU Resources Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 13th. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.37%.

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.