First Manhattan CO. LLC. Sells 13,365 Shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

First Manhattan CO. LLC. reduced its position in shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) by 9.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 135,919 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 13,365 shares during the period. First Manhattan CO. LLC. owned 0.07% of MDU Resources Group worth $2,467,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in shares of MDU Resources Group by 115.8% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 69,603 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,254,000 after buying an additional 37,355 shares during the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main purchased a new position in MDU Resources Group in the fourth quarter worth $2,286,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new position in MDU Resources Group in the fourth quarter worth $3,361,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in shares of MDU Resources Group by 24.1% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 64,163 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,156,000 after purchasing an additional 12,451 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Centiva Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of MDU Resources Group during the 4th quarter worth $2,593,000. 71.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com lowered 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 assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at MDU Resources Group

In other news, Director Dennis W. Johnson purchased 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $16.64 per share, with a total value of $499,200.00. Following the completion of 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.94% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

MDU Resources Group Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of MDU Resources Group stock opened at $17.36 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.72. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $13.23 and a 52-week high of $20.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.15. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.05.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.04. MDU Resources Group had a net margin of 7.31% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The business had revenue of $674.80 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $653.13 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.52 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.94 EPS for the current year.

MDU Resources Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.68%.

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.