MDU Resources Group (MDU) Competitors

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

Which has higher earnings and valuation, MDU or BKH?

MDU Resources Group has higher earnings, but lower revenue 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
MDU Resources Group	$1.76B	1.90	$281.11M	$1.29	12.66
Black Hills	$2.13B	2.07	$273.10M	$3.97	15.20

Does the media favor MDU or BKH?

In the previous week, MDU Resources Group had 5 more articles in the media than Black Hills. MarketBeat recorded 13 mentions for MDU Resources Group and 8 mentions for Black Hills. Black Hills' average media sentiment score of 1.36 beat MDU Resources Group's score of 0.50 indicating that Black Hills is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
MDU Resources Group	4 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Black Hills	8 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Which has more risk & volatility, MDU or BKH?

MDU Resources Group has a beta of 0.73, indicating that its share price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Black Hills has a beta of 0.71, indicating that its share price is 29% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts recommend MDU or BKH?

MDU Resources Group presently has a consensus price target of $18.00, indicating a potential upside of 10.26%. Black Hills has a consensus price target of $67.00, indicating a potential upside of 11.06%. Given Black Hills' higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Black Hills is more favorable than MDU Resources Group.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MDU Resources Group	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67
Black Hills	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Do institutionals & insiders believe in MDU or BKH?

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

Is MDU or BKH more profitable?

Black Hills has a net margin of 12.68% 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
MDU Resources Group	7.93%	9.86%	3.77%
Black Hills	12.68%	7.81%	2.85%

Is MDU or BKH a better dividend stock?

MDU Resources Group pays an annual dividend of $0.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.2%. Black Hills pays an annual dividend of $2.70 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.5%. MDU Resources Group pays out 40.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Black Hills pays out 68.0% 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. MDU Resources Group has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Black Hills has increased its dividend for 55 consecutive years. Black Hills is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Black Hills beats MDU Resources Group on 10 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.