MSH Capital Advisors LLC Makes New $308,000 Investment in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

MSH Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 17,089 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $308,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of MDU Resources Group by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 32,739 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $896,000 after acquiring an additional 641 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 1.6% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 85,306 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,338,000 after purchasing an additional 1,353 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 7.8% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 87,022 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,386,000 after purchasing an additional 6,264 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in MDU Resources Group by 1.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,719,543 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $101,978,000 after buying an additional 65,433 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 32.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 855,493 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $23,449,000 after buying an additional 209,042 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Dennis W. Johnson purchased 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 $2,997,962.24. This represents a 19.98 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

MDU Resources Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MDU opened at $16.77 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $16.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $12.99 and a 12-month high of $20.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.68.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last released 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 net margin of 7.31% and a return on equity of 10.20%. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of MDU Resources Group in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $18.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com cut 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 assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MDU Resources Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.