UGI (UGI) Competitors

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

Is UGI or MDU a better dividend stock?

UGI pays an annual dividend of $1.50 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.2%. MDU Resources Group pays an annual dividend of $0.52 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. UGI pays out 61.7% 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. UGI has raised its dividend for 37 consecutive years and MDU Resources Group has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years. UGI is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Does the media prefer UGI or MDU?

In the previous week, UGI had 15 more articles in the media than MDU Resources Group. MarketBeat recorded 19 mentions for UGI and 4 mentions for MDU Resources Group. MDU Resources Group's average media sentiment score of 1.68 beat UGI's score of 1.34 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
UGI	16 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
MDU Resources Group	4 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 more risk and volatility, UGI or MDU?

UGI has a beta of 1.05, suggesting that its share price is 5% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, MDU Resources Group has a beta of 0.7, suggesting that its share price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has better earnings and valuation, UGI or MDU?

MDU Resources Group has lower revenue, but higher earnings than UGI. MDU Resources Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than UGI, 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
UGI	$7.21B	1.07	$269M	$2.43	14.82
MDU Resources Group	$1.76B	1.98	$281.11M	$1.29	13.20

Is UGI or MDU more profitable?

MDU Resources Group has a net margin of 7.93% compared to UGI's net margin of 7.28%. UGI's return on equity of 16.21% beat MDU Resources Group's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
UGI	7.28%	16.21%	4.93%
MDU Resources Group	7.93%	9.86%	3.77%

Do analysts prefer UGI or MDU?

UGI presently has a consensus price target of $31.33, suggesting a potential downside of 13.02%. MDU Resources Group has a consensus price target of $18.00, suggesting a potential upside of 5.73%. Given MDU Resources Group's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe MDU Resources Group is more favorable than UGI.

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

Do institutionals & insiders have more ownership in UGI or MDU?

82.3% of UGI shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 71.4% of MDU Resources Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.7% of UGI shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of MDU Resources Group shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

UGI beats MDU Resources Group on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.