Natural Resource Partners (NYSE:NRP) Releases Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $1.19 EPS

Natural Resource Partners (NYSE:NRP) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The energy company reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.25 by $1.19, Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $47.18 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $37.80 million. Natural Resource Partners had a net margin of 61.28% and a return on equity of 18.65%.

Here are the key takeaways from Natural Resource Partners’ conference call:

• NRP generated $34M of free cash flow in Q1 and $167M LTM (before the $39M Sisecam investment) and has rapidly reduced outstanding debt to $45M, emphasizing deleveraging to boost future unitholder distributions.
• Sisecam Wyoming (soda ash JV) is facing a pronounced global supply glut and weak demand; NRP made a $39M capital infusion, does not expect distributions to resume until demand or supply dynamics change, and is re‑evaluating its long‑term assumptions for the asset.
• The mineral rights segment remains a key cash generator (Q1: $34M net income, $43M free cash flow), but coal sales volumes were down ~20% YoY and rising diesel/shipping costs are compressing producer margins.
• Management intends to increase unit distributions this year (targeting November) but warns that ongoing commodity headwinds—particularly in soda ash—could delay that timing.

Natural Resource Partners Stock Down 1.5%

NRP stock traded down $1.70 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $111.56. 17,828 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 39,227. The company has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.11 and a beta of 0.19. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $119.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $113.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 1.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.03. Natural Resource Partners has a 52 week low of $91.79 and a 52 week high of $128.60.

Natural Resource Partners Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 19th. Natural Resource Partners’s payout ratio is 35.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on NRP shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Natural Resource Partners from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Natural Resource Partners from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Institutional Trading of Natural Resource Partners

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of NRP. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in Natural Resource Partners by 12,329.6% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 621,478 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $59,357,000 after purchasing an additional 616,478 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Natural Resource Partners by 14.3% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 1,006,232 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $105,051,000 after purchasing an additional 125,530 shares in the last quarter. Nitor Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Natural Resource Partners during the 4th quarter valued at $6,703,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Natural Resource Partners by 9.3% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 748,185 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $78,111,000 after purchasing an additional 63,350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Annandale Capital LLC bought a new stake in Natural Resource Partners during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,740,000. Institutional investors own 31.77% of the company’s stock.

About Natural Resource Partners

Natural Resource Partners LP (NYSE: NRP) is a master limited partnership that acquires and manages royalty and other mineral interests in coal and other natural resources across North America and Australia. The partnership was formed in 2010 as a spin-out from a major U.S. coal producer and is headquartered in Fairmont, West Virginia. Its core business model centers on owning gross proceeds interests, gross royalty proceeds interests and fee minerals, which provide the right to receive a portion of revenues from mining and mineral production without operating the mines directly.

NRP’s U.S.