Analyzing Sky Quarry (NASDAQ:SKYQ) and Natural Resource Partners (NYSE:NRP)

Sky Quarry (NASDAQ:SKYQ) and Natural Resource Partners (NYSE:NRP) are both small-cap energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, risk, earnings, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations and institutional ownership.

Risk & Volatility

Sky Quarry has a beta of 2.17, suggesting that its share price is 117% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Natural Resource Partners has a beta of 0.24, suggesting that its share price is 76% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

31.8% of Natural Resource Partners shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.1% of Sky Quarry shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 35.3% of Natural Resource Partners shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Sky Quarry and Natural Resource Partners’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sky Quarry	N/A	-232.60%	-59.42%
Natural Resource Partners	57.13%	16.65%	13.88%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Sky Quarry and Natural Resource Partners”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sky Quarry	$12.49 million	1.75	-$12.20 million	($2.73)	-0.90
Natural Resource Partners	$207.28 million	7.20	$136.37 million	$7.84	14.37

Natural Resource Partners has higher revenue and earnings than Sky Quarry. Sky Quarry is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Natural Resource Partners, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Sky Quarry and Natural Resource Partners, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sky Quarry	1	0	0	0	1.00
Natural Resource Partners	0	1	0	0	2.00

Summary

Natural Resource Partners beats Sky Quarry on 11 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Sky Quarry

We are an oil production, refining, and a development-stage environmental remediation company formed to deploy technologies to facilitate the recycling of waste asphalt shingles and remediation of oil-saturated sands and soils. The recycling of asphalt shingles is expected to reduce the dependence on landfills for the removal of waste and to also reduce dependence on foreign and domestic virgin crude oil extraction for industrial uses. We have developed a process for separating oil from oily sands and other oil-bearing solids utilizing a proprietary solvent which we refer to as our ECOSolv technology or the ECOSolv process. The solvent is used in a closed-loop distillation and evaporation circuit which results in over 99% of the solvent being recoverable for continuous reuse and requires no water. The solvent has demonstrated oil separation rates of over 95% in bench testing using samples of both mined crushed ore and ground asphalt shingles. We intend to retrofit our PR Spring oil sands remediation facility, located in southeast Utah, to recycle waste asphalt shingles using our ECOSolv technology, and to produce and sell oil as well as asphalt paving aggregate mined from our bitumen deposit. We also plan to develop a modular asphalt shingle recycling facility (“ASR Facility”), which can be deployed in cities with high concentrations of waste asphalt shingles and near asphalt shingle manufacturing centers. We were incorporated in Delaware on June 4, 2019 as “Recoteq, Inc.” On April 22, 2020, we changed our name to “Sky Quarry Inc.”. Sky Quarry is a holding company and has no operations. The purpose of the holding company is to maintain ownership over our subsidiaries, create management efficiencies and establish an organizational structure to facilitate the potential acquisition of other businesses within or complementary to our industry. On September 16, 2020, we acquired 2020 Resources LLC. The assets of 2020 Resources include an oil sands remediation facility (the “PR Spring facility”) and a 100% interest in asphalt bitumen leases covering approximately 5,930 acres in the PR Spring region in Utah. On September 16, 2020, we also acquired 2020 Resources (Canada) Ltd, an entity which is currently inactive. On September 30, 2022, we acquired Foreland Refining Corporation, which is engaged in the refining of heavy crude oil into diesel and other petroleum products (naphtha, vacuum gas oil, and paving asphalt liquids) at its Eagle Springs Refinery located near Ely, Nevada. The acquisition of Foreland was immediately accretive to our revenues and cash flow and provides a strong base for growth. We believe the acquisition is a strategic fit and will form an important role in the future enabling us to vertically integrate the production and refining of oil from waste materials to energy in a sustainable and efficient manner. Sky Quarry Inc. 707 W. 700 S. Suite 101 Woods Cross, UT.

About Natural Resource Partners

Natural Resource Partners L.P., together with its subsidiaries, owns, manages, and leases a portfolio of mineral properties in the United States. It operates in two segments, Mineral Rights and Soda Ash. The company owns interests in coal, soda ash, trona, and other natural resources. Its coal reserves are primarily located in the Appalachia Basin, the Illinois Basin, and the Northern Powder River Basin in the United States; industrial minerals and aggregates properties located in the United States; and oil and gas properties located in Louisiana. The company leases a portion of its reserves in exchange for royalty payments; and owns and leases transportation and processing infrastructure related to coal properties. NRP (GP) LP serves as the general partner of the company. Natural Resource Partners L.P. was incorporated in 2002 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.