Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. Has $45,000 Holdings in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) by 84.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,487 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,138 shares during the period. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in MDU Resources Group were worth $45,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 164.4% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 914 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its position in shares of MDU Resources Group by 99.6% during the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 1,834 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 915 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of MDU Resources Group during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 19.4% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the period. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in MDU Resources Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $77,000. Institutional investors own 71.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on MDU. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on MDU Resources Group in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $18.00 price target on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MDU Resources Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MDU Resources Group news, Director Dennis W. Johnson bought 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $16.64 per share, for a total transaction of $499,200.00. Following the purchase, 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 acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

MDU Resources Group Stock Performance

Shares of MDU opened at $16.04 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.68. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $12.99 and a 52 week high of $20.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $16.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $20.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.15.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities analysts forecast that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MDU Resources Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.68%.

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.