Walleye Trading LLC Sells 149,094 Shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

Walleye Trading LLC lowered its stake in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU - Free Report) by 90.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,334 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 149,094 shares during the quarter. Walleye Trading LLC's holdings in MDU Resources Group were worth $276,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in MDU Resources Group by 164.4% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,470 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 914 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 99.6% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of MDU Resources Group during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 84.4% in the 4th quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 2,487 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 1,138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,505 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 71.44% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MDU Resources Group news, Director Dennis W. Johnson acquired 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $16.64 per share, with a total value of $499,200.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 180,166 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,997,962.24. This trade represents a 19.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.94% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on MDU. StockNews.com lowered MDU Resources Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MDU Resources Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $21.00.

MDU Resources Group Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of MDU Resources Group stock traded down $0.17 during trading on Friday, hitting $16.89. 735,519 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,500,233. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $16.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $18.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.68. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $13.23 and a 1-year high of $20.39. 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 - Get Free Report) last posted 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, sell-side analysts expect that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.94 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 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 3.08%. MDU Resources Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.68%.

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.