Cross Timbers Royalty Trust (NYSE:CRT) & Riley Exploration Permian (NYSE:REPX) Critical Analysis

Riley Exploration Permian (NYSE:REPX) and Cross Timbers Royalty Trust (NYSE:CRT) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Riley Exploration Permian and Cross Timbers Royalty Trust, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Riley Exploration Permian	0	1	3	0	2.75
Cross Timbers Royalty Trust	0	1	0	0	2.00

Riley Exploration Permian presently has a consensus price target of $43.00, suggesting a potential downside of 1.47%. Given Riley Exploration Permian’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities analysts plainly believe Riley Exploration Permian is more favorable than Cross Timbers Royalty Trust.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

58.9% of Riley Exploration Permian shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 9.7% of Cross Timbers Royalty Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 4.2% of Riley Exploration Permian shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 9.4% of Cross Timbers Royalty Trust shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Riley Exploration Permian and Cross Timbers Royalty Trust”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Riley Exploration Permian	$483.86 million	2.00	$111.59 million	$5.52	7.91
Cross Timbers Royalty Trust	$5.79 million	13.21	$6.15 million	$0.53	24.05

Riley Exploration Permian has higher revenue and earnings than Cross Timbers Royalty Trust. Riley Exploration Permian is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Cross Timbers Royalty Trust, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk and Volatility

Riley Exploration Permian has a beta of 0.96, meaning that its stock price is 4% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cross Timbers Royalty Trust has a beta of -0.04, meaning that its stock price is 104% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Riley Exploration Permian pays an annual dividend of $1.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.7%. Cross Timbers Royalty Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.81 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.4%. Riley Exploration Permian pays out 29.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Cross Timbers Royalty Trust pays out 152.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Riley Exploration Permian has increased its dividend for 3 consecutive years.

Profitability

This table compares Riley Exploration Permian and Cross Timbers Royalty Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Riley Exploration Permian	28.48%	23.82%	11.31%
Cross Timbers Royalty Trust	74.04%	147.68%	81.96%

Summary

Riley Exploration Permian beats Cross Timbers Royalty Trust on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Riley Exploration Permian

Riley Exploration Permian, Inc., an independent oil and natural gas company, engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and production of oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in Texas and New Mexico. The company's activities are primarily focused on the Northwest Shelf and Yeso trend of the Permian Basin. Its acreage is primarily located on contiguous blocks in Yoakum County, Texas; and Eddy County, New Mexico. Riley Exploration Permian, Inc. is headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

About Cross Timbers Royalty Trust

Cross Timbers Royalty Trust operates as an express trust in the United States. It holds 90% net profits interests in certain producing and nonproducing royalty and overriding royalty interest properties in Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico; and 75% net profits working interest in four properties in Texas and three properties in Oklahoma. The company was founded in 1991 and is based in Dallas, Texas.