MDU Resources Group (MDU) Competitors

Black Hills (NYSE:BKH) and MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) are both mid-cap utilities companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, risk, dividends, earnings, media sentiment, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and profitability.

Is BKH or MDU more profitable?

Black Hills has a net margin of 12.67% compared to MDU Resources Group's net margin of 7.93%. MDU Resources Group's return on equity of 9.86% beat Black Hills' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Black Hills	12.67%	7.83%	2.80%
MDU Resources Group	7.93%	9.86%	3.77%

Do analysts recommend BKH or MDU?

Black Hills currently has a consensus target price of $66.00, suggesting a potential upside of 15.97%. MDU Resources Group has a consensus target price of $18.00, suggesting a potential upside of 7.08%. Given Black Hills' higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Black Hills is more favorable than MDU Resources Group.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Black Hills	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33
MDU Resources Group	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67

Does the media refer more to BKH or MDU?

In the previous week, Black Hills had 7 more articles in the media than MDU Resources Group. MarketBeat recorded 9 mentions for Black Hills and 2 mentions for MDU Resources Group. MDU Resources Group's average media sentiment score of 1.58 beat Black Hills' score of 0.64 indicating that MDU Resources Group is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Black Hills	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	7 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
MDU Resources Group	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Which has better valuation & earnings, BKH or MDU?

MDU Resources Group has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Black Hills. MDU Resources Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Black Hills, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Black Hills	$2.13B	1.94	$273.10M	$3.92	14.52
MDU Resources Group	$1.76B	1.95	$281.11M	$1.29	13.03

Which has more risk & volatility, BKH or MDU?

Black Hills has a beta of 0.7, meaning that its stock price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, MDU Resources Group has a beta of 0.7, meaning that its stock price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is BKH or MDU a better dividend stock?

Black Hills pays an annual dividend of $2.70 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.7%. MDU Resources Group pays an annual dividend of $0.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Black Hills pays out 68.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. MDU Resources Group pays out 40.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Black Hills has raised its dividend for 55 consecutive years and MDU Resources Group has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. Black Hills is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do insiders and institutionals hold more shares of BKH or MDU?

86.7% of Black Hills shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 71.4% of MDU Resources Group shares are held by institutional investors. 0.6% of Black Hills shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of MDU Resources Group shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Black Hills and MDU Resources Group tied by winning 9 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.