Raymond James Financial Inc. Buys Shares of 47,783 MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 47,783 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $861,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MDU. Principal Securities Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 164.4% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,470 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 914 shares in the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its position 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 worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 915 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in MDU Resources Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position 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 valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in MDU Resources Group by 55.0% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 8,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $154,000 after buying an additional 3,034 shares in the last quarter. 71.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Dennis W. Johnson purchased 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 purchase, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

MDU Resources Group Stock Down 4.5 %

Shares of MDU Resources Group stock opened at $16.04 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $16.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $20.13. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $12.99 and a 12-month high of $20.39. 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 company has a market cap of $3.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.62, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.68.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last posted its 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%. Research analysts anticipate that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

MDU Resources Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 13th. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio is 37.68%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on MDU. Jefferies Financial Group began 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 downgraded 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 assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MDU Resources Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.