Riverwater Partners LLC Purchases 1,151 Shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

Riverwater Partners LLC boosted its position in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 50,714 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,151 shares during the period. Riverwater Partners LLC’s holdings in MDU Resources Group were worth $914,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MDU. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,997,452 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $414,414,000 after purchasing an additional 3,276,114 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in MDU Resources Group during the fourth quarter worth $40,857,000. Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 1,098.5% in the fourth quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 2,155,007 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,833,000 after buying an additional 1,975,200 shares in the last quarter. Pertento Partners LLP grew its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 90.3% during the fourth quarter. Pertento Partners LLP now owns 2,990,144 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,882,000 after buying an additional 1,419,118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of MDU Resources Group by 300.1% during the fourth quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC now owns 691,993 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,470,000 after acquiring an additional 519,029 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on MDU Resources Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “hold” rating and a $18.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com cut MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research 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 data from MarketBeat.com, MDU Resources Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $21.00.

MDU Resources Group Trading Down 4.5 %

Shares of MDU stock opened at $16.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.15. The company has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.62, a PEG 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.96 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.13.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last released its earnings results 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%. Research analysts anticipate 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 given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio is 37.68%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MDU Resources Group

In other news, Director Dennis W. Johnson acquired 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 purchase, the director now owns 180,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,997,962.24. This trade represents a 19.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.