Yousif Capital Management LLC Boosts Holdings in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 80,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,564 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in MDU Resources Group were worth $1,459,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of MDU Resources Group during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of MDU Resources Group by 21.3% during the 4th quarter. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 81,626 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,471,000 after acquiring an additional 14,360 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its position in MDU Resources Group by 55.0% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 8,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $154,000 after purchasing an additional 3,034 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its position in shares of MDU Resources Group by 19.4% in the 4th 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. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in MDU Resources Group by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC now owns 199,502 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,595,000 after acquiring an additional 41,429 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.44% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MDU has been the topic of several research reports. Siebert Williams Shank raised shares of MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on 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 lowered MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of MDU Resources Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and cut their target price for the company from $31.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MDU Resources Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $21.00.

Insider Activity at MDU Resources Group

In other news, Director Dennis W. Johnson bought 30,000 shares of MDU Resources Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $16.64 per share, for a total transaction of $499,200.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 180,166 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,997,962.24. The trade was 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 available at the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

MDU Resources Group Price Performance

MDU stock opened at $16.85 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $14.91 and a 52-week high of $30.52. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $18.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $22.34.

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, 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%. Equities research analysts expect that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.95 EPS for the current year.

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.