Marine Petroleum Trust (NASDAQ:MARPS) vs. Dorchester Minerals (NASDAQ:DMLP) Head to Head Survey

Marine Petroleum Trust (NASDAQ:MARPS) and Dorchester Minerals (NASDAQ:DMLP) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the superior business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, dividends, earnings and institutional ownership.

Volatility and Risk

Marine Petroleum Trust has a beta of -0.04, meaning that its stock price is 104% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Dorchester Minerals has a beta of 0.61, meaning that its stock price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

1.8% of Marine Petroleum Trust shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 19.2% of Dorchester Minerals shares are held by institutional investors. 5.9% of Dorchester Minerals shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Marine Petroleum Trust and Dorchester Minerals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Marine Petroleum Trust	69.73%	76.87%	76.87%
Dorchester Minerals	47.35%	22.49%	22.12%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Marine Petroleum Trust and Dorchester Minerals”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Marine Petroleum Trust	$1.04 million	10.23	$730,000.00	$0.36	14.78
Dorchester Minerals	$161.52 million	7.42	$89.20 million	$1.72	14.72

Dorchester Minerals has higher revenue and earnings than Marine Petroleum Trust. Dorchester Minerals is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Marine Petroleum Trust, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Dividends

Marine Petroleum Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.27 per share and has a dividend yield of 5.1%. Dorchester Minerals pays an annual dividend of $2.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 9.8%. Marine Petroleum Trust pays out 75.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Dorchester Minerals pays out 144.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Marine Petroleum Trust and Dorchester Minerals, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Marine Petroleum Trust	0	1	0	0	2.00
Dorchester Minerals	0	1	0	0	2.00

Summary

Dorchester Minerals beats Marine Petroleum Trust on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Marine Petroleum Trust

Marine Petroleum Trust, together with its subsidiary, Marine Petroleum Corporation, operates as a royalty trust in the United States. It has overriding royalty interest in oil and natural gas leases in the Central and Western areas of the Gulf of Mexico off the coasts of Louisiana and Texas. Marine Petroleum Trust was founded in 1956 and is based in Dallas, Texas.

About Dorchester Minerals

Dorchester Minerals, L.P. engages in the acquisition, ownership, and administration of royalty properties in the United States. Its royalty properties include producing and nonproducing mineral, royalty, overriding royalty, net profits, and leasehold interests in 593 counties and parishes in 28 states; and net profits interests represent net profits overriding royalty interests in various properties owned by the operating partnership. Dorchester Minerals Management LP serves as the general partner of Dorchester Minerals, L.P. The company was founded in 1982 and is based in Dallas, Texas.