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 stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, dividends, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, media sentiment, risk and community ranking.

Does the media favor MDU or BKH?

In the previous week, Black Hills had 2 more articles in the media than MDU Resources Group. MarketBeat recorded 8 mentions for Black Hills and 6 mentions for MDU Resources Group. Black Hills' average media sentiment score of 1.21 beat MDU Resources Group's score of 0.90 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)	0 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Black Hills	5 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts rate MDU or BKH?

MDU Resources Group presently has a consensus price target of $21.00, suggesting a potential upside of 26.17%. Black Hills has a consensus price target of $62.33, suggesting a potential upside of 4.50%. Given MDU Resources Group's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe MDU Resources Group is more favorable than Black Hills.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MDU Resources Group	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.75
Black Hills	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	0 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.00

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 3.1%. Black Hills pays an annual dividend of $2.70 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.5%. MDU Resources Group pays out 37.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Black Hills pays out 68.9% 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 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.

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

71.4% of MDU Resources Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.7% of Black Hills shares are held by institutional investors. 1.0% of MDU Resources Group shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.6% of Black Hills shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Does the MarketBeat Community favor MDU or BKH?

Black Hills received 98 more outperform votes than MDU Resources Group when rated by MarketBeat users. However, 60.22% of users gave MDU Resources Group an outperform vote while only 58.95% of users gave Black Hills an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
MDU Resources Group	Outperform Votes 274 60.22%	Underperform Votes 181 39.78%
Black Hills	Outperform Votes 372 58.95%	Underperform Votes 259 41.05%

Which has stronger earnings & 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	1.93	$281.10M	$1.38	12.06
Black Hills	$2.13B	2.01	$273.10M	$3.92	15.22

Which has more risk and volatility, MDU or BKH?

MDU Resources Group has a beta of 0.8, suggesting that its stock price is 20% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Black Hills has a beta of 0.73, suggesting that its stock price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is MDU or BKH more profitable?

Black Hills has a net margin of 12.84% compared to MDU Resources Group's net margin of 7.31%. MDU Resources Group's return on equity of 10.20% beat Black Hills' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MDU Resources Group	7.31%	10.20%	3.85%
Black Hills	12.84%	7.82%	2.76%

Summary

Black Hills beats MDU Resources Group on 11 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.