Global Partners (NYSE:GLP) versus Mesa Royalty Trust (NYSE:MTR) Head-To-Head Survey

Global Partners (NYSE:GLP) and Mesa Royalty Trust (NYSE:MTR) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability and risk.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

38.1% of Global Partners shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 12.7% of Mesa Royalty Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. 41.5% of Global Partners shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Global Partners	0.91%	30.87%	4.92%
Mesa Royalty Trust	60.59%	9.17%	8.82%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Global Partners and Mesa Royalty Trust, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Global Partners	0	2	1	0	2.33
Mesa Royalty Trust	1	0	0	0	1.00

Global Partners presently has a consensus price target of $46.00, indicating a potential downside of 12.16%. Given Global Partners’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Global Partners is more favorable than Mesa Royalty Trust.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Global Partners and Mesa Royalty Trust”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Global Partners	$18.56 billion	0.10	$79.22 million	$4.91	10.66
Mesa Royalty Trust	$600,000.00	8.00	$510,000.00	$0.16	16.12

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

Volatility & Risk

Global Partners has a beta of 1.06, indicating that its share price is 6% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Mesa Royalty Trust has a beta of 0.41, indicating that its share price is 59% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Global Partners beats Mesa Royalty Trust on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Global Partners

Global Partners LP engages in the purchasing, selling, gathering, blending, storing, and logistics of transporting gasoline and gasoline blendstocks, distillates, residual oil, renewable fuels, crude oil, and propane to wholesalers, retailers, and commercial customers. The company operates through three segments: Wholesale, Gasoline Distribution and Station Operations, and Commercial. The Wholesale segment sells home heating oil, branded and unbranded gasoline and gasoline blendstocks, diesel, kerosene, and residual oil to home heating oil and propane retailers and wholesale distributors. This segment also transports the products by railcars, barges, trucks and/or pipelines. Its Gasoline Distribution and Station Operations segment sells branded and unbranded gasoline to gasoline station operators and sub-jobbers; operates gasoline stations and convenience stores; and provides car wash, lottery, and ATM services, as well as leases gasoline stations. The Commercial segment sells and delivers unbranded gasoline, home heating oil, diesel, kerosene, residual oil, and bunker fuel to customers in the public sector, as well as to commercial and industrial end-users; and sells custom blended fuels. The company is also involved in the transportation of petroleum products and renewable fuels through rail from the mid-continent region of the United States and Canada. Global Partners LP was founded in 2005 and is based in Waltham, Massachusetts.

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.