MDU Resources Group
| Basis | Payout | Why |
|---|---|---|
| GAAP earnings | 58.1% | whyA single year's earnings for a commodity producer can be several times the through-cycle average. This ratio computed in a trough looks alarming and in a peak looks trivial; neither describes whether the dividend is affordable across a cycle. |
| Operating cash flow | 22.9% | whyBefore capital spending. |
| Free cash flow | negative | whyOCF fell $297m short of capex — the dividend was not funded from free cash flow. |
Nothing is marked as applying, deliberately. The basis that governs here is free cash flow, and this year it yields no ratio at all. The figure above is shown for completeness; treating it as the answer is the substitution this page exists to prevent.
Spread between highest and lowest: 35.2 percentage points. Same filings, different denominators.
Coverage rating 6 / 100 — Not covered. ? Peer standing 3/50Direction 0/30Stability 3/20
Against its own history: 262.2% this year vs 114.3% median over the prior 5. A gap this size is usually a one-off — acquisition, settlement, cyclical trough — not a dividend that stopped being funded. The rating reads the latest year; the table shows the trend.
Free cash flow payout, last 6 years
| Fiscal year | Payout |
|---|---|
| 2022-12-31 | 262.2% |
| 2020-12-31 | 79.1% |
| 2017-12-31 | 141.4% |
| 2016-12-31 | 198.8% |
| 2015-12-31 | 114.3% |
| 2014-12-31 | 86.7% |
Coverage worsened sharply this year, 79.1% to 262.2%, after no clear trend before it. One year is not a trend, but it is worth knowing which direction the last one moved.
6% of the 36 materials here pay out more — at the demanding end.
The arithmetic
- GAAP earnings — dividends declared per share $0.540 ÷ diluted EPS $0.930
- Operating cash flow — dividends paid $108m ÷ operating cash flow $473m
- Free cash flow — dividends paid $108m ÷ (operating cash flow $473m − capex $770m)
Where the figures came from
- 10-K filed 2026-02-20 · accession 0000067716-26-000014
Every one is public at sec.gov and free to check. That is the point — you should not have to take our word for any of it.
Computed by an open pipeline reading SEC XBRL directly. If any number here looks wrong to you, tell us — that is more useful to us than agreement.
Who else looks like this
Every figure above is computed from MDU Resources Group’s own filing, and every company here is measured the same way. Screen all of them on any of these twelve measures, or on the rules two investors published — free, and nothing you screen leaves your browser.