Head-To-Head Comparison: SunCoke Energy (NYSE:SXC) & Natural Resource Partners (NYSE:NRP)

SunCoke Energy (NYSE:SXC) and Natural Resource Partners (NYSE:NRP) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, risk, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings and institutional ownership.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

90.5% of SunCoke Energy shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 31.8% of Natural Resource Partners shares are held by institutional investors. 1.5% of SunCoke Energy shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 35.3% of Natural Resource Partners shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares SunCoke Energy and Natural Resource Partners”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
SunCoke Energy	$1.94 billion	0.34	$95.90 million	$0.86	9.00
Natural Resource Partners	$268.01 million	4.94	$183.64 million	$10.64	9.61

Natural Resource Partners has lower revenue, but higher earnings than SunCoke Energy. SunCoke Energy is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Natural Resource Partners, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for SunCoke Energy and Natural Resource Partners, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
SunCoke Energy	0	0	1	0	3.00
Natural Resource Partners	0	0	0	0	0.00

SunCoke Energy presently has a consensus target price of $13.00, indicating a potential upside of 67.96%. Given SunCoke Energy’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe SunCoke Energy is more favorable than Natural Resource Partners.

Volatility and Risk

SunCoke Energy has a beta of 1.07, meaning that its stock price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Natural Resource Partners has a beta of 0.29, meaning that its stock price is 71% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares SunCoke Energy and Natural Resource Partners’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
SunCoke Energy	3.99%	10.43%	4.44%
Natural Resource Partners	65.19%	27.76%	19.93%

Dividends

SunCoke Energy pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.2%. Natural Resource Partners pays an annual dividend of $3.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.9%. SunCoke Energy pays out 55.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Natural Resource Partners pays out 28.2% 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. SunCoke Energy has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years. SunCoke Energy is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Natural Resource Partners beats SunCoke Energy on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About SunCoke Energy

SunCoke Energy, Inc. operates as an independent producer of coke in the Americas and Brazil. The company operates through three segments: Domestic Coke, Brazil Coke, and Logistics. It offers metallurgical and thermal coal. The company also provides handling and/or mixing services to steel, coke, electric utility, coal producing, and other manufacturing based customers. In addition, it owns and operates cokemaking facilities in the United States and Brazil. The company was founded in 1960 and is headquartered in Lisle, Illinois.

About Natural Resource Partners

Natural Resource Partners L.P., together with its subsidiaries, owns, manages, and leases a portfolio of mineral properties in the United States. It operates in two segments, Mineral Rights and Soda Ash. The company owns interests in coal, soda ash, trona, and other natural resources. Its coal reserves are primarily located in the Appalachia Basin, the Illinois Basin, and the Northern Powder River Basin in the United States; industrial minerals and aggregates properties located in the United States; and oil and gas properties located in Louisiana. The company leases a portion of its reserves in exchange for royalty payments; and owns and leases transportation and processing infrastructure related to coal properties. NRP (GP) LP serves as the general partner of the company. Natural Resource Partners L.P. was incorporated in 2002 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.