Key Insights

• Significantly high institutional ownership implies MDU Resources Group's stock price is sensitive to their trading actions
• The top 13 shareholders own 50% of the company
• Insiders have bought recently

If you want to know who really controls MDU Resources Group, Inc. (NYSE:MDU), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that institutions own the lion's share in the company with 80% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

And things are looking up for institutional investors after the company gained US$129m in market cap last week. The one-year return on investment is currently 45% and last week's gain would have been more than welcomed.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about MDU Resources Group.

See our latest analysis for MDU Resources Group

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About MDU Resources Group?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

MDU Resources Group already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see MDU Resources Group's historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Investors should note that institutions actually own more than half the company, so they can collectively wield significant power. MDU Resources Group is not owned by hedge funds. Our data shows that BlackRock, Inc. is the largest shareholder with 13% of shares outstanding. Meanwhile, the second and third largest shareholders, hold 11% and 4.0%, of the shares outstanding, respectively.

A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 13 shareholders have a combined ownership of 50% implying that no single shareholder has a majority.

While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of MDU Resources Group

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

Our most recent data indicates that insiders own less than 1% of MDU Resources Group, Inc.. It is a pretty big company, so it would be possible for board members to own a meaningful interest in the company, without owning much of a proportional interest. In this case, they own around US$33m worth of shares (at current prices). Arguably, recent buying and selling is just as important to consider. You can click here to see if insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

With a 19% ownership, the general public, mostly comprising of individual investors, have some degree of sway over MDU Resources Group. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Next Steps:

It's always worth thinking about the different groups who own shares in a company. But to understand MDU Resources Group better, we need to consider many other factors. Be aware that MDU Resources Group is showing 3 warning signs in our investment analysis , and 1 of those is a bit unpleasant...

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.