Lee Danner & Bass Inc. Acquires Shares of 4,300 MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 4,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $77,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MDU. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of MDU Resources Group by 7.6% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 41,657 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,142,000 after purchasing an additional 2,931 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of MDU Resources Group during the third quarter worth $83,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in MDU Resources Group by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,082,468 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,080,000 after acquiring an additional 101,955 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in MDU Resources Group by 464.9% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 149,060 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,086,000 after acquiring an additional 122,671 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in MDU Resources Group by 5.9% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 57,472 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,575,000 after acquiring an additional 3,177 shares in the last quarter. 71.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MDU has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of MDU Resources Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $18.00 price objective on the stock. 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MDU Resources Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at MDU Resources Group

In other news, Director Dennis W. Johnson acquired 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $16.64 per share, for a total transaction of $499,200.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly 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 acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.59% of the company’s stock.

MDU Resources Group Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of MDU stock opened at $16.79 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $12.74 and a 1 year high of $20.39. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $17.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.16, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.81.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MDU Resources Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. MDU Resources Group’s payout ratio is currently 37.68%.

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.