The Best Stock in North Dakota: MDU Resources

We scoured the nation to identify the best stock in every state. MDU Resources (symbol MDU) is the publicly traded company we picked in North Dakota. The company headquarters is located in Bismarck.

A word of caution: Since we selected a single stock from each state (plus one from D.C), and choices in some states are sparse, a few of our picks are best suited to investors comfortable with a higher degree of risk. This is not necessarily one of our 51 favorite stocks in the entire U.S., in other words.

MDU Resources by the Numbers

• Headquarters: Bismarck
• Share price: $27.11
• Market value: $5.3 billion
• Price-earnings ratio: 22

(Prices and data are as of June 22, 2017)

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It’s steady-as-she-goes for MDU Resources, which operates in two main business segments: construction materials and services, and electricity and natural gas utilities.

In an effort to tamp down earnings volatility, the company jettisoned its oil and natural gas production and exploration division last year, thus reducing its exposure to prices for those commodities. After years of up-and-down earnings and revenues, MDU appears to be on a modest growth track. On the construction side, the company stands to benefit from increasing funding for transportation infrastructure projects, including those that stem from an Obama-era spending plan, says Value Line analyst Dominic Silva. MDU is among the largest sand and gravel suppliers in the U.S. On the utility side, the company operates in eight states where customer growth should outpace the national average over the next five years. Silva says the shares are timely, with potential to provide a good total return over the next three to five years. Helping matters on that front is the company’s dividend, which has grown for 26 straight years, making MDU a dividend aristocrat – a company that has increased its dividend for at least 25 consecutive years. The stock currently yields 2.8%.