Contrasting Dorchester Minerals (NASDAQ:DMLP) and Mplx (NYSE:MPLX)

Mplx (NYSE:MPLX) and Dorchester Minerals (NASDAQ:DMLP) are both energy companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, profitability and risk.

Profitability

This table compares Mplx and Dorchester Minerals’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Mplx	35.75%	32.83%	10.98%
Dorchester Minerals	45.45%	28.43%	27.83%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Mplx and Dorchester Minerals”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Mplx	$13.00 billion	4.50	$4.91 billion	$4.65	12.40
Dorchester Minerals	$152.83 million	9.10	$55.25 million	$1.76	16.10

Mplx has higher revenue and earnings than Dorchester Minerals. Mplx is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Dorchester Minerals, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

Mplx has a beta of 0.48, suggesting that its stock price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Dorchester Minerals has a beta of 0.55, suggesting that its stock price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings for Mplx and Dorchester Minerals, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Mplx	0	7	6	1	2.57
Dorchester Minerals	0	1	0	0	2.00

Mplx currently has a consensus price target of $63.80, indicating a potential upside of 10.68%. Given Mplx’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Mplx is more favorable than Dorchester Minerals.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

24.2% of Mplx shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 19.2% of Dorchester Minerals shares are owned by institutional investors. 5.9% of Dorchester Minerals shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Mplx pays an annual dividend of $4.31 per share and has a dividend yield of 7.5%. Dorchester Minerals pays an annual dividend of $5.09 per share and has a dividend yield of 18.0%. Mplx pays out 92.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Dorchester Minerals pays out 289.2% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Mplx has increased its dividend for 9 consecutive years.

Summary

Mplx beats Dorchester Minerals on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Mplx

MPLX LP engages in the operation of midstream energy infrastructure and logistics assets, and distribution fuels services. It operates through the Crude Oil and Products Logistics and Natural Gas and NGL Services segments. The Crude Oil and Products Logistics segment transports, stores, distributes, and markets crude oil, asphalt, refined petroleum products, and water. The Natural Gas and NGL Services segment gathers, processes, and transports natural gas, and gathers, transports, fractionates, stores, and markets natural gas liquids (NGLs). The company was founded on March 27, 2012 and is headquartered in Findlay, OH.

About Dorchester Minerals

Dorchester Minerals, L.P. engages in the acquisition, ownership, and administration of royalty properties in the United States. Its royalty properties include producing and nonproducing mineral, royalty, overriding royalty, net profits, and leasehold interests in 593 counties and parishes in 28 states; and net profits interests represent net profits overriding royalty interests in various properties owned by the operating partnership. Dorchester Minerals Management LP serves as the general partner of Dorchester Minerals, L.P. The company was founded in 1982 and is based in Dallas, Texas.