Aurora Investment Counsel Trims Stock Holdings in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

Aurora Investment Counsel cut its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 31,143 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 905 shares during the quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel’s holdings in MDU Resources Group were worth $561,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Foundry Partners LLC acquired a new stake in MDU Resources Group in the third quarter valued at $4,594,000. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in shares of MDU Resources Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $778,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in MDU Resources Group by 42.2% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 115,907 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,089,000 after purchasing an additional 34,409 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in MDU Resources Group by 5.1% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,082,468 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $57,080,000 after purchasing an additional 101,955 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 21.3% in the fourth quarter. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 81,626 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,471,000 after buying an additional 14,360 shares during the last quarter. 71.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on MDU Resources Group in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $18.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.00.

MDU Resources Group Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of MDU Resources Group stock opened at $16.47 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.93, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.81. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $14.91 and a twelve month high of $30.52. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $17.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $21.09.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 forecast that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current year.

MDU Resources Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.16%. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.68%.

Insider Transactions at MDU Resources Group

In other MDU Resources Group news, Director Dennis W. Johnson bought 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price 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 approximately $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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

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.