Bleakley Financial Group LLC Sells 57,827 Shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

Bleakley Financial Group LLC decreased its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) by 34.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 111,436 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 57,827 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in MDU Resources Group were worth $2,008,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 3.3% in the 4th quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 80,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,459,000 after buying an additional 2,564 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in MDU Resources Group during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in MDU Resources Group by 21.3% during the fourth quarter. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 81,626 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,471,000 after acquiring an additional 14,360 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 55.0% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 8,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $154,000 after acquiring an additional 3,034 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake 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 valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. 71.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MDU Resources Group Trading Down 2.2 %

MDU opened at $16.57 on Friday. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $14.91 and a 1-year high of $30.52. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $18.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.38 billion, a PE ratio of 8.50, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.80. 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 (NYSE:MDU) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.03. MDU Resources Group had a net margin of 8.92% and a return on equity of 11.24%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MDU Resources Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 12th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, December 12th. MDU Resources Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MDU. Bank of America upgraded shares of MDU Resources Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $31.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on MDU Resources Group in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $18.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Siebert Williams Shank raised MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $19.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $21.00.

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.