Needham Investment Management LLC Purchases 33,500 Shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

Needham Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU - Free Report) by 7.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 461,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 33,500 shares during the quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC owned about 0.23% of MDU Resources Group worth $8,307,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MDU. Barclays PLC boosted 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 worth $2,386,000 after purchasing an additional 6,264 shares in the last quarter. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in MDU Resources Group in the fourth quarter worth $778,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in MDU Resources Group by 42.2% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 115,907 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,089,000 after purchasing an additional 34,409 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in MDU Resources Group by 1,098.5% in the fourth quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 2,155,007 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $38,833,000 after purchasing an additional 1,975,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brady Martz Wealth Solutions LLC acquired a new position in MDU Resources Group in the fourth quarter worth $494,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.44% of the company's stock.

MDU Resources Group Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE MDU traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $17.41. 1,424,443 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,469,983. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.61, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $16.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $17.79. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $13.23 and a twelve month high of $20.39.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $674.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $653.13 million. MDU Resources Group had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 7.31%. MDU Resources Group's revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MDU Resources Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, June 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. MDU Resources Group's payout ratio is presently 40.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com raised MDU Resources Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MDU Resources Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $21.00.

About MDU Resources Group

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.