Capital Fund Management S.A. Purchases Shares of 25,412 MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

Capital Fund Management S.A. purchased a new position in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 25,412 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $458,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in MDU Resources Group by 2.0% in the third 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 last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 85,306 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,338,000 after purchasing an additional 1,353 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in MDU Resources Group by 7.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 87,022 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,386,000 after purchasing an additional 6,264 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake 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 valued at $101,978,000 after purchasing an additional 65,433 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew 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 valued at $23,449,000 after purchasing an additional 209,042 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 71.44% of the company's stock.

MDU Resources Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MDU traded up $0.34 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $16.74. 1,017,701 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,503,703. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.23 and a 52-week high of $20.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $16.68 and a 200 day moving average of $19.08. 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 company has a market cap of $3.42 billion, a PE ratio of 12.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.68.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

MDU Resources Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. MDU Resources Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.68%.

Insider Activity at MDU Resources Group

In other news, Director Dennis W. Johnson purchased 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $16.64 per share, with a total value of $499,200.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.94% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on MDU shares. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on MDU Resources Group in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $18.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MDU Resources Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.