Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Buys 96,889 Shares of MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,179,357 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 96,889 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in MDU Resources Group were worth $39,272,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 914 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MDU Resources Group by 158.9% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,196 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 734 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew 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 valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 915 shares during the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of MDU Resources Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in MDU Resources Group by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 71.44% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at MDU Resources Group

In other news, Director Dennis W. Johnson purchased 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $16.64 per share, with a total value of $499,200.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 180,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,997,962.24. The trade was a 19.98 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MDU has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on MDU Resources Group in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $18.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of MDU Resources Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $21.00.

MDU Resources Group Trading Up 2.7 %

Shares of MDU stock opened at $16.89 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $3.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.81. MDU Resources Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $12.30 and a 1 year 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.00.

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) last released its 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 return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 7.31%. On average, research analysts predict that MDU Resources Group, Inc. will post 0.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MDU Resources Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 13th will be paid 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 yield of 3.08%. MDU Resources Group’s payout ratio is 37.68%.

About MDU Resources Group

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.