Is MDU Resources Group Inc (MDU) A Good Stock To Buy?

Hedge funds are not perfect. They have their bad picks just like everyone else. Micron, a stock hedge funds have loved, lost 50% during the last 12 months ending in October 30. Although hedge funds are not perfect, their consensus picks do deliver solid returns, however. Our data show the top 30 S&P 500 stocks among hedge funds at the end of September 2014 yielded an average return of 9.5% in the same time period, vs. a gain of 5.2% for the S&P 500 Index. Because hedge funds have a lot of resources and their consensus picks do well, we pay attention to what they think. In this article, we analyze what the elite funds think of MDU Resources Group Inc (NYSE:MDU).

MDU Resources Group Inc (NYSE:MDU) investors should pay attention to an increase in hedge fund interest of late. MDU was in 11 hedge funds’ portfolios at the end of the third quarter of 2015. There were 10 hedge funds in our database with MDU holdings at the end of the previous quarter. The level and the change in hedge fund popularity aren’t the only variables you need to analyze to decipher hedge funds’ perspectives. A stock may witness a boost in popularity but it may still be less popular than similarly priced stocks. That’s why at the end of this article we will examine companies such as Braskem SA (ADR) (NYSE:BAK), Tribune Media Co (NYSE:TRCO), and TreeHouse Foods Inc. (NYSE:THS) to gather more data points.

Follow Mdu Resources Group Inc (NYSE:MDU)

In the 21st century investor’s toolkit there are tons of gauges shareholders can use to value their holdings. A pair of the best gauges are hedge fund and insider trading moves. We have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the elite investment managers can outperform the market by a very impressive margin (see the details here).

With all of this in mind, we’re going to take a glance at the recent action regarding MDU Resources Group Inc (NYSE:MDU).

Hedge fund activity in MDU Resources Group Inc (NYSE:MDU)

Heading into Q4, a total of 11 of the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey were long this stock, a change of 10% from the second quarter. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists a few key hedge fund managers who were upping their stakes considerably (or already accumulated large positions).

When looking at the institutional investors followed by Insider Monkey, Citadel Investment Group, managed by Ken Griffin, holds the number one position in MDU Resources Group Inc (NYSE:MDU). Citadel Investment Group has an $4.6 million position in the stock, comprising less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is D. E. Shaw’s D E Shaw, with an $2.8 million position; the fund has less than 0.1%% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Other professional money managers that are bullish consist of Louis Bacon’s Moore Global Investments, Peter Rathjens, Bruce Clarke and John Campbell’s Arrowstreet Capital and Michael Platt and William Reeves’s BlueCrest Capital Mgmt..

Consequently, specific money managers have been driving this bullishness. Arrowstreet Capital assembled the biggest position in MDU Resources Group Inc (NYSE:MDU). Arrowstreet Capital had $1.5 million invested in the company at the end of the quarter. BlueCrest Capital Mgmt. also initiated an $1.3 million position during the quarter. The following funds were also among the new MDU investors: Benjamin A. Smith’s Laurion Capital Management, Brad Dunkley and Blair Levinsky’s Waratah Capital Advisors, and Glenn Russell Dubin’s Highbridge Capital Management.

Let’s now take a look at hedge fund activity in other stocks similar to MDU Resources Group Inc (NYSE:MDU). These stocks are Braskem SA (ADR) (NYSE:BAK), Tribune Media Co (NYSE:TRCO), TreeHouse Foods Inc. (NYSE:THS), and Dolby Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE:DLB). All of these stocks’ market caps are closest to MDU’s market cap.

Ticker No of HFs with positions Total Value of HF Positions (x1000) Change in HF Position
BAK 5 9695 1
TRCO 28 1361330 -10
THS 21 462401 2
DLB 21 162446 0

As you can see these stocks had an average of 19 hedge funds with bullish positions and the average amount invested in these stocks was $499 million. That figure was just $15 million in MDU’s case. Tribune Media Co (NYSE:TRCO) is the most popular stock in this table. On the other hand Braskem SA (ADR) (NYSE:BAK) is the least popular one with only 5 bullish hedge fund positions. MDU Resources Group Inc (NYSE:MDU) is not the least popular stock in this group, but hedge fund interest is still below average. This is a slightly negative signal and we’d rather spend our time researching stocks that hedge funds are piling on. In this regard TRCO might be a better candidate to consider a long position.