Contrasting MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) & Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED)

MDU Resources Group (NYSE:MDU) and Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) are both utilities companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, dividends, valuation, risk, profitability, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

This table compares MDU Resources Group and Consolidated Edison’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
MDU Resources Group	10.75%	6.89%	2.58%
Consolidated Edison	12.53%	8.44%	2.83%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares MDU Resources Group and Consolidated Edison”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
MDU Resources Group	$1.83 billion	2.08	$190.40 million	$0.95	19.57
Consolidated Edison	$16.92 billion	2.26	$2.02 billion	$6.09	16.96

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

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings for MDU Resources Group and Consolidated Edison, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
MDU Resources Group	0	4	3	0	2.43
Consolidated Edison	6	6	3	0	1.80

MDU Resources Group currently has a consensus target price of $23.40, indicating a potential upside of 25.83%. Consolidated Edison has a consensus target price of $108.67, indicating a potential upside of 5.18%. Given MDU Resources Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe MDU Resources Group is more favorable than Consolidated Edison.

Volatility & Risk

MDU Resources Group has a beta of 0.66, suggesting that its share price is 34% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Consolidated Edison has a beta of 0.26, suggesting that its share price is 74% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

MDU Resources Group pays an annual dividend of $0.58 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Consolidated Edison pays an annual dividend of $3.55 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. MDU Resources Group pays out 61.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Consolidated Edison pays out 58.3% 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. MDU Resources Group has increased its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Consolidated Edison has increased its dividend for 52 consecutive years. Consolidated Edison is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

71.4% of MDU Resources Group shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 66.3% of Consolidated Edison shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of MDU Resources Group shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Consolidated Edison shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Consolidated Edison beats MDU Resources Group on 10 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About MDU Resources Group

MDU Resources Group, Inc. engages in the regulated energy delivery, and construction materials and services businesses in the United States. It operates through four segments: Electric, Natural Gas Distribution, Pipeline, and Construction Services. The Electric segment generates, transmits, and distributes electricity for residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming; and operates 3,400 miles of transmission lines, 4,800 miles of distribution lines, and 82 transmission and 298 distribution substations. The Natural Gas Distribution segment distributes natural gas for residential, commercial, and industrial customers in Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Washington, and Wyoming; and supplies related value-added services. The Pipeline segment provides natural gas transportation and underground storage services through a regulated pipeline system primarily in the Rocky Mountain and northern Great Plains regions; and cathodic protection and other energy-related services. The Construction Services segment offers electrical and mechanical contracting services, including the construction and maintenance of electrical and communication wiring and infrastructure, fire suppression systems, mechanical piping, and services; transmission and distribution contracting services, comprise construction and maintenance of overhead and underground electrical, and gas and communication infrastructure; and manufactures and supplies transmission and distribution lines construction equipment and tools. It serves manufacturing, commercial, industrial, transportation, institutional, and renewable and government customers, as well as utilities. MDU Resources Group, Inc. was incorporated in 1924 and is headquartered in Bismarck, North Dakota.

About Consolidated Edison

Consolidated Edison, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the regulated electric, gas, and steam delivery businesses in the United States. It offers electric services to approximately 3.7 million customers in New York City and Westchester County; gas to approximately 1.1 million customers in Manhattan, the Bronx, parts of Queens, and Westchester County; and steam to approximately 1,530 customers in parts of Manhattan. The company also supplies electricity to approximately 0.3 million customers in southeastern New York and northern New Jersey; and gas to approximately 0.2 million customers in southeastern New York. In addition, it operates 545 circuit miles of transmission lines; 15 transmission substations; 63 distribution substations; 90,051 in-service line transformers; 3,788 pole miles of overhead distribution lines; and 2,314 miles of underground distribution lines, as well as 4,363 miles of mains and 380,870 service lines for natural gas distribution. Further, the company invests in electric and gas transmission projects. It primarily sells electricity to industrial, commercial, residential, and government customers. Consolidated Edison, Inc. was founded in 1823 and is based in New York, New York.