MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) Director Dennis W. Johnson Purchases 30,000 Shares of Stock

MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) Director Dennis W. Johnson purchased 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $16.64 per share, for a total transaction of $499,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 180,166 shares of the company’s stock, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

MDU Resources Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MDU opened at $16.46 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $3.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.92, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.80. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $14.91 and a 1 year high of $30.52. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $18.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $22.48. 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 (NYSE:MDU) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MDU Resources Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 12th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 12th. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio is 37.68%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,344,185 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $174,713,000 after purchasing an additional 114,719 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted 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 during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in MDU Resources Group by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,179,357 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $39,272,000 after buying an additional 96,889 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in MDU Resources Group by 1,098.5% during the fourth quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 2,155,007 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,833,000 after buying an additional 1,975,200 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in MDU Resources Group by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,114,019 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $37,926,000 after acquiring an additional 331,481 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MDU. Bank of America raised MDU Resources Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $31.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com cut shares of MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday. Siebert Williams Shank raised shares of MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of MDU Resources Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They set a “hold” rating and a $18.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MDU Resources Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.00.

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.