Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Purchases New Shares in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 20,323 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $366,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 570 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in MDU Resources Group by 2.0% in 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. Ingalls & Snyder LLC grew its stake in MDU Resources Group by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 39,335 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after acquiring an additional 850 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in MDU Resources Group by 164.4% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 914 shares during the period. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its stake in MDU Resources Group by 99.6% in the 4th quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 1,834 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 915 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MDU shares. 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 objective on the stock. StockNews.com lowered MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a 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 issued 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 a consensus target price of $21.00.

Insider Transactions at MDU Resources Group

In related news, Director Dennis W. Johnson acquired 30,000 shares of MDU Resources Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $16.64 per share, for a total transaction of $499,200.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 180,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,997,962.24. This represents a 19.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

MDU Resources Group Stock Down 1.6 %

NYSE MDU opened at $16.79 on Friday. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $12.71 and a 52 week high of $20.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $17.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $20.74. The firm has a market cap of $3.43 billion, a PE ratio of 12.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.81.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

MDU Resources Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.68%.

MDU Resources Group Company 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.