Natixis Raises Stake in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

Natixis lifted its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) by 15,984.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 260,089 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 258,472 shares during the period. Natixis’ holdings in MDU Resources Group were worth $4,687,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in MDU Resources Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $778,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 42.2% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 115,907 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,089,000 after acquiring an additional 34,409 shares during the period. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. increased its stake in MDU Resources Group by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 81,626 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,471,000 after purchasing an additional 14,360 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 32.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 855,493 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $23,449,000 after purchasing an additional 209,042 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Preferred LLC purchased a new stake in MDU Resources Group during the fourth quarter worth $5,691,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Dennis W. Johnson purchased 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were bought 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 in the company, valued at $2,997,962.24. This trade represents a 19.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.94% of the company’s stock.

MDU Resources Group Stock Performance

NYSE:MDU opened at $16.42 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market cap of $3.36 billion, a PE ratio of 11.90, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.68. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.10. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $13.23 and a 1-year high of $20.39.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.03. MDU Resources Group had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 7.31%. On average, equities analysts expect that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

MDU Resources Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. MDU Resources Group’s payout ratio is currently 37.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently 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 shares of MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MDU Resources Group currently has a consensus 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.