Brevan Howard Capital Management LP Acquires New Shares in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

Brevan Howard Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 15,654 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $282,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 462,988 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,343,000 after purchasing an additional 18,754 shares in the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP purchased a new position in MDU Resources Group during the fourth quarter worth $261,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in MDU Resources Group by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 535,928 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,657,000 after buying an additional 4,461 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 38.9% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 34,459 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $621,000 after acquiring an additional 9,652 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of MDU Resources Group by 134.0% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 507,793 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,152,000 after acquiring an additional 290,756 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded shares of MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.00.

MDU Resources Group Price Performance

MDU stock opened at $17.36 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.72. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.23 and a 52-week high of $20.39. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $16.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.97.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $674.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $653.13 million. MDU Resources Group had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 7.31%. The firm’s revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.52 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

MDU Resources Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.68%.

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.