UGI (UGI) Competitors

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

Does the media favor MDU or UGI?

In the previous week, UGI had 5 more articles in the media than MDU Resources Group. MarketBeat recorded 19 mentions for UGI and 14 mentions for MDU Resources Group. MDU Resources Group's average media sentiment score of 1.48 beat UGI's score of 0.44 indicating that MDU Resources Group is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
MDU Resources Group	11 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
UGI	10 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	4 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Which has more risk and volatility, MDU or UGI?

MDU Resources Group has a beta of 0.7, suggesting that its stock price is 30% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, UGI has a beta of 1.07, suggesting that its stock price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Is MDU or UGI a better dividend stock?

MDU Resources Group pays an annual dividend of $0.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. UGI pays an annual dividend of $1.50 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.4%. MDU Resources Group pays out 52.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. UGI pays out 78.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. MDU Resources Group has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years and UGI has increased its dividend for 37 consecutive years. UGI is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do analysts prefer MDU or UGI?

MDU Resources Group presently has a consensus price target of $18.00, indicating a potential upside of 10.74%. UGI has a consensus price target of $31.33, indicating a potential downside of 8.11%. Given MDU Resources Group's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe MDU Resources Group is more favorable than UGI.

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
UGI	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.50

Is MDU or UGI more profitable?

MDU Resources Group has a net margin of 8.25% compared to UGI's net margin of 5.70%. UGI's return on equity of 15.73% beat MDU Resources Group's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MDU Resources Group	8.25%	8.29%	3.20%
UGI	5.70%	15.73%	4.81%

Which has better earnings & valuation, MDU or UGI?

MDU Resources Group has higher earnings, but lower revenue 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
MDU Resources Group	$1.85B	1.79	$281.11M	$1.06	15.33
UGI	$7.21B	1.02	$269M	$1.90	17.95

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

71.4% of MDU Resources Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 82.3% of UGI shares are held by institutional investors. 0.9% of MDU Resources Group shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.7% of UGI shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

UGI beats MDU Resources Group on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.