Head to Head Comparison: LandBridge (NYSE:LB) versus Mesa Royalty Trust (NYSE:MTR)

Mesa Royalty Trust (NYSE:MTR) and LandBridge (NYSE:LB) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, dividends, profitability, institutional ownership, risk, analyst recommendations and earnings.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

12.7% of Mesa Royalty Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. 17.8% of LandBridge shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Mesa Royalty Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.04 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. LandBridge pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Mesa Royalty Trust pays out 3.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. LandBridge pays out 16.9% 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.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for Mesa Royalty Trust and LandBridge, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mesa Royalty Trust	0	0	0	0	N/A
LandBridge	0	2	6	0	2.75

LandBridge has a consensus target price of $34.14, suggesting a potential downside of 21.83%. Given LandBridge’s higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe LandBridge is more favorable than Mesa Royalty Trust.

Profitability

This table compares Mesa Royalty Trust and LandBridge’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mesa Royalty Trust	76.94%	28.92%	26.82%
LandBridge	N/A	N/A	N/A

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Mesa Royalty Trust and LandBridge”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Mesa Royalty Trust	$1.14 million	9.47	$2.86 million	$1.21	4.80
LandBridge	$100.26 million	31.87	$260.42 million	$3.56	12.27

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

Summary

LandBridge beats Mesa Royalty Trust on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Mesa Royalty Trust

Mesa Royalty Trust owns overriding royalty interests in various oil and gas producing properties in the United States. It holds interests in properties located in the Hugoton field of Kansas; and the San Juan Basin field of Northwestern New Mexico and Southwestern Colorado. The company was founded in 1979 and is based in Houston, Texas.

About LandBridge

LandBridge Company LLC owns and manages land and resources to support and enhance oil and natural gas development in the United States. It owns surface acres in and around the Delaware Basin in Texas and New Mexico. The company holds a portfolio of oil and gas royalties. It also sells brackish water and other surface composite materials. The company was founded in 2021 and is based in Houston, Texas. LandBridge Company LLC operates as a subsidiary of LandBridge Holdings LLC.