Updated on June 9th, 2025 by Bob Ciura
Oil and gas royalty trusts are now offering exceptionally high distributions to their investors, resulting in much higher yields than the ~1.3% average dividend yield of the S&P 500.
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In this article, we will discuss the prospects of the 5 highest-yielding royalty trusts.
Table of Contents
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High-Yield Royalty Trust No. 5: Permianville Royalty Trust (PVL)
Permianville Royalty Trust (PVL) was incorporated in 2011 and is based in Houston, Texas. It operates as a statutory trust and owns a net profits interest representing the right to receive 80% of the net profits from the sale of oil and natural gas production from properties located in the states of Texas, Louisiana and New Mexico.
It has a market capitalization of $63 million. The trust’s assets are static in that no further properties can be added. In addition, the trust is passive, as it has no control over operating costs and the rate of production.
In mid-May, PVL reported (5/15/25) results for Q1-2025. Gas volumes grew 21% but oil volumes decreased -12%. In addition, the trust was hurt by excessive operating costs and thus it did not offer any distributions apart from a special distribution related to an asset sale.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on PVL (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
High-Yield Royalty Trust No. 4: San Juan Basin Royalty Trust (SJT)
San Juan Basin Royalty Trust (SJT) is a medium sized gas trust (it produces a negligible amount of oil), set up in 1980 by Southland Royalty Company. The producing properties are all in northern New Mexico, in the San Juan Basin.
They are currently operated by Hilcorp San Juan, L.P., which acquired the interests in 2017. The trust’s assets are static in that no further properties can be added. It had royalty income of $6.9 million in 2024.
In late March, SJT reported (3/31/2025) results for Q4-2024. Production of gas fell -5% and the price of gas plunged -33% over the prior year’s quarter due to a relatively warm winter. As a result, SJT did not pay any distributions. SJT has suspended its distributions since May-2024 due to excess operating costs and low gas prices.
It will resume distributions when costs moderate and gas prices recover. As gas prices have recovered lately amid a decrease in U.S. inventories, we expect SJT to resume distributions in the upcoming months.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on SJT (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
High-Yield Royalty Trust No. 3: Permian Basin Royalty Trust (PBT)
Permian Basin Royalty Trust is an oil and gas trust, which was founded in 1980. In 2023, about 55% of output was oil and 45% was gas, but 85% of revenues came from oil.
PBT is a combination trust: unit holders have a 75% net overriding royalty interest in Waddell Ranch Properties in Texas, which includes several oil and gas wells; and a 95% net overriding royalty interest in the Texas Royalty Properties, which includes various oil wells.
The trust’s assets are static in that no further properties can be added. The trust has no operations but is merely a pass through vehicle for the royalties. PBT had royalty income of $54.4 million in 2022 and $29.0 million in 2023.
In mid-May, PBT reported (5/14/25) financial results for the first quarter of fiscal 2025. The average realized prices of oil and gas decreased significantly over the prior year’s period. As a result, distributable income per unit decreased -50%, from $0.12 to $0.06.
After some months of disappointing distributions, which resulted from high operating expenses on the Waddell Ranch properties, PBT boosted its distributions in the last two months of 2023. However, it has reduced them again in recent months due to high operating expenses on the Waddell Ranch properties and lackluster prices of oil and gas.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on Permian Basin Royalty Trust (PBT) (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
High-Yield Royalty Trust No. 2: Cross Timbers Royalty Trust (CRT)
Cross Timbers Royalty Trust is an oil and gas trust (about 50/50), set up in 1991 by XTO Energy. Its unitholders have a 90% net profit interest in producing properties in Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico; and a 75% net profit interest in working interest properties in Texas and Oklahoma.
In late March, CRT reported (3/27/25) results for the full fiscal 2024. Oil and gas volumes decreased -15% and -32%, respectively, over the prior year.
In addition, the average realized price of gas declined -34%. As a result, distributable cash flow (DCF) per unit decreased -51%.
The price of oil has fallen below key technical support of $70 lately, as OPEC is about to begin unwinding its production cuts, but the price of gas has rallied lately due to cold weather.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on Cross Timbers Royalty Trust (CRT) (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
High-Yield Royalty Trust No. 1: PermRock Royalty Trust (PRT)
PermRock Royalty Trust is a trust formed in late 2017 by Boaz Energy, a company that is focused on the acquisition, development and operation of oil and natural gas properties in the Permian Basin. The Trust benefits from the unique characteristics of the Permian Basin, which is the most prolific oil-producing area in the U.S.
On March 28th, 2025, PermRock Royalty reported full year 2024 results for the period ending December 31st, 2024. Net profits income received by the trust was $5.96 million, compared to $7.13 million in 2023. The average realized sale price of oil declined by 1.2% year-over-year, while natural gas plummeted by 32%.
Distributable income for the trust came to $5.16 million, down 18% from $6.26 million in the prior year period and distributable income per unit of $0.42 was lower by nine cents from $0.51 in the prior year.
Click here to download our most recent Sure Analysis report on PermRock Royalty Trust (PRT) (preview of page 1 of 3 shown below):
Final Thoughts
On the surface, oil and gas royalty trusts are attractive as they widely offer higher yields than the S&P 500 average.
However, oil and gas prices are infamous for their dramatic swings. Investors should also be aware of the excessive risk of all these trusts near the peak of their cycle.
The ideal time to buy these trusts is during a severe downturn of the energy sector, when these stocks plunge and may become undervalued.
As mentioned above, all the oil and gas trusts are highly risky due to the natural decline of their production and their sensitivity to the prices of oil and gas.
If you are interested in finding high-quality dividend growth stocks and/or other high-yield securities and income securities, the following Sure Dividend resources will be useful:
High-Yield Individual Security Research
Other Sure Dividend Resources
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