Contrasting LandBridge (NYSE:LB) and Marine Petroleum Trust (NASDAQ:MARPS)

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
LandBridge	N/A	N/A	N/A
Marine Petroleum Trust	70.95%	83.39%	83.39%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

1.8% of Marine Petroleum Trust shares are held by institutional investors. 17.8% of LandBridge shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for LandBridge and Marine Petroleum Trust, as provided by MarketBeat.

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

LandBridge presently has a consensus target price of $34.14, suggesting a potential downside of 25.21%. Given LandBridge’s higher probable upside, equities research analysts clearly believe LandBridge is more favorable than Marine Petroleum Trust.

Earnings and Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
LandBridge	$100.26 million	33.31	$260.42 million	$3.56	12.82
Marine Petroleum Trust	$1.07 million	8.37	$1.38 million	$0.40	11.25

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

Dividends

LandBridge pays an annual dividend of $0.60 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Marine Petroleum Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.38 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.4%. LandBridge pays out 16.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Marine Petroleum Trust pays out 95.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Summary

LandBridge beats Marine Petroleum Trust on 9 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

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.