TPL 2.0 : Investor Preferences

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Investor Preferences in C-Corp Conversion:

  1. No dilution.  Share issuance of any kind should be prohibited in the corporate charter.  Any changes to this policy should require a significant majority vote. 
  2. Share repurchases should remain the primary method of returning capital.
    1. If a dividend is necessary, it should be regular and consistent.
  3. Board members, including originating board members, must be voted upon by shareholders.  Board terms should be of reasonable length.
  4. Board should be of reasonable size so as to function healthily at all times. Independent directors should outnumber executive members. 
  5. Remain in “business of going out of business”.  Primary duty of corporation is return of capital via royalty collections and asset sales.
    1. State limitations on additional business activity such as new business ventures and additional land/royally acquisitions.  
  6. Executives shall be required to purchase shares via dedicated cash compensation and/or company loans to ensure that shareholder and management incentives are aligned.  Executives should be required to attain and maintain some material level of ownership. 
  7. Executive compensation should be simple and oriented towards long term results.
  8. Stock shall be split regularly so as to facilitate liquidity for repurchases.
  9. Transparency in reporting of results and material events should be commensurate with those expected of a $5B+ publicly traded corporation.
  10. Corporation must hold an annual meetings and be regularly open to investor communcation.

The list above was kept short deliberately.  Spin-offs, head count, and other business decisions (in my opinion) should be the responsibility of directors and management with interests and incentives that are aligned with those of shareholders (TPL 2.0).

Permian: 20% of CVX’s 2020 Budget

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https://www.chevron.com/stories/chevron-announces-20-billion-capital-and-exploratory-budget-for-2020

Chevron Corporation today announced a 2020 organic capital and exploratory spending program of $20 billion. The 2020 budget supports a robust portfolio of upstream and downstream investments, highlighted by Chevron’s world-class Permian Basin position, the company’s major capital project at TCO in Kazakhstan, and an advantaged queue of deepwater opportunities in the Gulf of Mexico.

In the upstream business, approximately $11 billion is forecasted to sustain and grow currently producing assets, including about $4 billion for Permian unconventional development and about $1 billion for other international unconventional development.

 

Conversion is a GO

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Conversion Exploration Committee of Texas Pacific Land Trust Provides Update

Deliberations of the Committee have been productive and informative with the Committee having worked with the management team to develop the Trust’s investor presentation that is now available on the Trust’s website, www.tpltrust.com.

In consultation with the Trust’s advisors, the Committee unanimously recognized compelling reasons to move to a corporate structure. The Committee will continue to work with the advisors to make a final recommendation to the Trustees as to the structure of such conversion or reorganization.

I like the fact that the CC worked with management and CS on the deck that was recently released and presented.  I also like the unanimous vote.  All seems constructive.  Thinking patience to get the exact final form and plan right is warranted.

Spotlight on Mineral Rights

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WSJ: The Underground Way to Earn a 10% Yield in Oil Stocks

Mineral rights entitle these firms, including Viper Energy Partners LP and Kimbell Royalty Partners LP, to the first cut of cash once oil and gas wells begin producing. The royalties they receive usually range from about 12% to 25%. Their place at the head of the line for payouts, plus the fact that they bear none of the drilling costs and keep collecting even if producers drill themselves bankrupt, have helped minerals owners outperform most other energy stocks in a year when investor sentiment has collapsed due to low oil and gas prices and profligate spending.

Mineral rights are a uniquely American asset class. In no other country are most mineral rights owned by ordinary citizens. It is also a highly fragmented asset class, akin to rental houses. The National Association of Royalty Owners estimates that there are more than 12 million private owners of mineral rights. Kimbell calculates the total market value of mineral rights at about $550 billion, of which public companies own just 2% or so.

The principal way to acquire mineral rights has usually been to inherit them. “Never sell your minerals” is a marketplace adage. These days, though, that bit of country wisdom is being cast aside by many who have inherited the rights to oil and gas royalties. The result is a consolidation by Wall Street of assets that have long been an integral part of intergenerational family wealth.

Wild that TPL wasn’t mentioned.  Thanks to a reader for the heads up on this article!

Forbes

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Growth Stocks Trading At Reasonable Prices

In 1888, the Texas and Pacific Railway went bankrupt. Stockholders lost everything but bondholders ended up owning the railroad’s land holdings, now called the Texas Pacific Land Trust (TPL).

Based in Dallas, the trust, still traded on the New York Stock Exchange, owns about 900,000 acres of land in West Texas and rents it out for cattle grazing and oil exploration. It also actively buys and sells parcels of land.

For the past five years, this land trust has shown 48% average annual earnings growth; last year was even faster. Encouragingly, TPL has shown a profit each year in the past 15 years. Another strong point: It has enough cash to cover all of its debt.

The stock sells for 17 times earnings.

What debt?

 

If You’ve Got a Roadshow Meeting

tpltblogger8 Comments

Awesome deck.  I’m still absorbing.  Here are a few questions I’d ask:

1) Tell me about the 19 years.  How is that calculated?  How can I do it myself to verify?

q1

q4

2) 7% of royalty acreage is developed.  What’s the pragmatic maximum that this figure can get to.  It can’t be 100%.

q2

3) When is that cash being returned?  And why is it in the slide deck as an ROC now?

q3