Reviewing Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) & Cross Timbers Royalty Trust (NYSE:CRT)

Green Plains (NASDAQ:GPRE) and Cross Timbers Royalty Trust (NYSE:CRT) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, profitability, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership and risk.

Volatility and Risk

Green Plains has a beta of 1.15, meaning that its stock price is 15% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cross Timbers Royalty Trust has a beta of 0.01, meaning that its stock price is 99% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

9.7% of Cross Timbers Royalty Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.4% of Green Plains shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 9.4% of Cross Timbers Royalty Trust shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Dividends

Green Plains pays an annual dividend of $0.48 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.3%. Cross Timbers Royalty Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.77 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.0%. Green Plains pays out 30.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Cross Timbers Royalty Trust pays out 145.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Green Plains and Cross Timbers Royalty Trust”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Green Plains	$1.83 billion	0.56	-$121.28 million	$1.59	9.19
Cross Timbers Royalty Trust	$4.25 million	18.17	$6.15 million	$0.53	24.30

Cross Timbers Royalty Trust has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Green Plains. Green Plains 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.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Green Plains and Cross Timbers Royalty Trust, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Green Plains	0	5	2	0	2.29
Cross Timbers Royalty Trust	0	1	0	0	2.00

Green Plains currently has a consensus target price of $17.00, suggesting a potential upside of 16.29%. Given Green Plains’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Green Plains is more favorable than Cross Timbers Royalty Trust.

Profitability

This table compares Green Plains and Cross Timbers Royalty Trust’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Green Plains	6.78%	14.52%	7.33%
Cross Timbers Royalty Trust	74.04%	147.68%	81.96%

Summary

Cross Timbers Royalty Trust beats Green Plains on 9 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Green Plains

Green Plains Inc. produces low-carbon fuels in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Ethanol Production, Agribusiness and Energy Services, and Partnership. The Ethanol Production segment produces ethanol, distillers grains, and ultra-high protein and renewable corn oil. The Agribusiness and Energy Services segment engages in the grain procurement, handling and storage, commodity marketing business; and trading of ethanol, distiller grains, renewable corn oil, grain, natural gas, and other commodities in various markets. This segment also provides grain drying and storage services to grain producers. The Partnership segment offers fuel storage and transportation services. It operates 24 ethanol storage facilities; two fuel terminal facilities; and a fleet of approximately 2,180 leased railcars. The company was formerly known as Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc. and changed its name to Green Plains Inc. in May 2014. Green Plains Inc. was incorporated in 2004 and is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska.

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.