Sterling Capital Management LLC Buys 22,834 Shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

Sterling Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) by 26.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 110,562 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 22,834 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC owned 0.05% of MDU Resources Group worth $1,992,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,997,452 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $414,414,000 after acquiring an additional 3,276,114 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in MDU Resources Group by 1.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,719,543 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $101,978,000 after purchasing an additional 65,433 shares during the period. Pertento Partners LLP increased its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 90.3% in the fourth quarter. Pertento Partners LLP now owns 2,990,144 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $53,882,000 after purchasing an additional 1,419,118 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of MDU Resources Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $40,857,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,179,357 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,272,000 after buying an additional 96,889 shares in the last quarter. 71.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at MDU Resources Group

In related news, Director Dennis W. Johnson purchased 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $16.64 per share, with a total value of $499,200.00. Following the acquisition, 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 purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on MDU Resources Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “hold” rating and a $18.00 price objective on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.00.

MDU Resources Group Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MDU opened at $16.49 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $16.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.54. The company has a market cap of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.95, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.07. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a one year low of $12.99 and a one year high of $20.39.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last posted 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 return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 7.31%. Analysts anticipate that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MDU Resources Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.15%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.