Permian Basin Stock Price, News & Analysis

Permian Basin Royalty Trust (NYSE: PBT) is an express trust that holds mineral and royalty interests in mature producing oil and gas fields. According to available information, its underlying properties include the Waddell Ranch properties, in which the Trust holds a net overriding royalty interest, and a group of Texas Royalty Properties. The Trust earns the majority of its income in the form of royalties received from these underlying oil and gas properties.

The Trust’s units of beneficial interest trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol PBT. Argent Trust Company serves as Trustee of the Permian Basin Royalty Trust. Press releases and SEC filings describe Argent Trust Company as administering the Trust, declaring monthly cash distributions to unitholders of record, and reporting on production, pricing, and cost information related to the underlying properties.

Royalty interests and underlying properties

Permian Basin Royalty Trust’s royalty interests are tied to producing properties in Texas. The Polygon description notes that the Trust’s underlying properties include Waddell Ranch Properties, as well as royalty interests in mature producing oil fields such as Yates, Wasson, Sand Hills, East Texas, Kelly-Snyder, Panhandle Regular, N. Cowden, Todd, Keystone, Kermit, McElroy, Howard-Glasscock, Seminole and others across Texas. The Trust’s revenue is described as being earned primarily in the form of royalties received through these properties.

Recent press releases emphasize two major components: the Waddell Ranch properties and the Texas Royalty Properties. For the Texas Royalty Properties, the Trust reports underlying production volumes of oil and gas, allocated volumes net to the Trust, and average realized prices for oil and gas (including pricing that reflects sales of gas liquid products). These data points are used to calculate revenues, taxes and expenses, and the resulting net profit attributable to the Trust’s net profits interest (NPI) in the underlying Texas Royalty Properties.

Cash distributions and net profits interest

The Trust declares monthly cash distributions to holders of its units of beneficial interest. Press releases issued through PR Newswire and furnished on Form 8-K state that Argent Trust Company, as Trustee, declares a cash distribution per unit, payable on a specified date to unitholders of record on a related record date. The distributions are based on net proceeds from the underlying properties, after deducting production costs, taxes, and general and administrative expenses, as well as taking into account any excess cost positions.

For the Texas Royalty Properties, the Trust holds a 95% net profits interest in the underlying properties. Press releases describe how revenues from oil and gas sales on these properties, less taxes and expenses, result in a net profit figure. Applying the Trust’s 95% NPI to this net profit produces the net contribution from the Texas Royalty Properties to a given month’s distribution. General and administrative expenses, net of interest earned, are then deducted at the Trust level to arrive at the total cash distribution to unitholders.

With respect to the Waddell Ranch properties, the Trust holds a 75% net overriding royalty, as disclosed in litigation-related press releases and in an 8-K describing a settlement agreement. Information needed to calculate NPI proceeds from Waddell Ranch is provided by Blackbeard Operating, LLC, the operator of those properties. Several press releases explain that when total production costs exceed gross proceeds for the Waddell Ranch properties, an excess cost position arises. All excess costs, including any accrued interest, must be recovered by future proceeds from the Waddell Ranch properties before any proceeds are distributed to the Trust from those properties.

Trust administration and reporting

Argent Trust Company, as Trustee, is responsible for administering the Trust in accordance with the Trust Indenture. Press releases and 8-K filings indicate that the Trustee:

• Declares monthly cash distributions to unitholders of record.
• Reports production, pricing, and cost information for the Texas Royalty Properties.
• Explains the status of any excess cost position on the Waddell Ranch properties.
• Files periodic reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including annual reports on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, which include reserve summaries and additional detail on the underlying properties.

Because Blackbeard provides production, pricing, and cost information for the Waddell Ranch properties on a quarterly rather than monthly basis, the Trustee has stated that detailed information for those properties will be included in the Trust’s Form 10-Q and Form 10-K filings to the extent it is received on a timely basis. Press releases also note that the Trust’s annual report with Form 10-K includes a reserve summary as of a stated year-end date.

Litigation and settlement related to Waddell Ranch

The Trust has been involved in litigation with Blackbeard Operating, LLC, the operator of properties in the Waddell Ranch in Crane County, Texas, in which the Trust holds a 75% net overriding royalty. According to press releases and an 8-K filing, the Trustee filed a petition and later a Second Amended Petition in the District Court of Tarrant County, Texas, seeking to recover damages that it alleged resulted from Blackbeard’s failure to properly calculate and pay royalties due and owing to the Trust. The Trustee alleged that Blackbeard impermissibly calculated and deducted overhead costs, labor expenses, and saltwater disposal fees, and failed to pay on all volumes of oil, gas, and other minerals produced from the relevant lands, as well as failed to provide required annual reports.

An 8-K dated August 19, 2025, and related press release report that Argent Trust Company, as Trustee, entered into a settlement agreement and release with Blackbeard. Under the settlement agreement, Blackbeard agreed to pay the Trust $9,000,000, with a portion paid within 30 days and the remainder to be paid in four equal installments during a subsequent calendar year. The settlement agreement also established the overhead rate that may be charged to the Trust, permits Blackbeard to pass through certain third-party charges, and allows Blackbeard to charge technical labor on reservoir engineers using an agreed allocation methodology against the net overriding royalty. The Trust agreed not to make future claims for lost volumes in the case of ordinary line loss as defined by third-party purchase agreements. The settlement also provides that the Trust will have the option to conduct annual site audits at its expense and sets forth agreed reporting that Blackbeard will provide to the Trustee.

Governance and unitholder actions

Permian Basin Royalty Trust operates under a Trust Indenture that governs amendments and unitholder voting requirements. Recent 8-K filings describe governance-related developments involving SoftVest Advisors, LLC and other unitholders. The Trustee received a request from SoftVest Advisors and other holders of units who collectively own more than 15% of the outstanding units to call a special meeting of unitholders. The stated purpose of the special meeting was to present a proposal in support of SoftVest or another appropriate party taking actions to seek judicial reformation or modification of the Trust Indenture so that a simple majority of votes cast at a special meeting, at which a quorum is present, would be sufficient to approve amendments to the Trust Indenture.

An 8-K dated December 16, 2025, reports that the Trust held a special meeting of unitholders, that a quorum was established, and that a non-binding proposal in support of judicial reformation or modification of the Trust Indenture received a majority of votes cast. The same filing notes that the proposal is non-binding on the Trust, and that SoftVest Advisors has informed the Trustee that it intends to seek judicial reformation or modification of the Trust Indenture as described in its proxy statement.

Another 8-K dated December 26, 2025, reports that SoftVest, L.P. filed an Original Petition for Modification of Trust in the District Court of Tarrant County, Texas, seeking judicial modification of the Trust’s Indenture. The petition seeks to amend provisions of the Indenture that currently require approval by 75% of the outstanding units for certain amendments and to replace provisions that set forth prohibited amendments with language that would permit amendment of any provision of the Indenture by a vote of unitholders in accordance with Article VIII, which, as amended, would allow amendment by a majority in interest of unitholders constituting a quorum at a meeting where a quorum is present.

Regulatory filings and investor information

The Trust files current reports on Form 8-K to disclose material events, including monthly cash distribution announcements, entry into material definitive agreements, and significant unitholder actions. Several 8-K filings explicitly state that press releases announcing monthly cash distributions are furnished under Item 2.02 (Results of Operations and Financial Condition) and are not deemed filed for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

Press releases note that the Trust’s annual report with Form 10-K, which includes a reserve summary as of a specified year-end, has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. They also state that the Trust’s cash distribution history, current and prior year financial reports, tax information booklets, and a link to filings made with the SEC can be accessed through the Trust’s own channels, and that printed reports can be requested and are mailed free of charge.

Risk considerations mentioned in disclosures

The Trust’s press releases and 8-K filings include cautionary language indicating that worldwide market conditions affect the pricing for domestic production and that it is difficult to predict what effect these conditions will have on future distributions. They also contain forward-looking statement disclaimers, noting that statements about future events or conditions, and statements containing terms such as “estimates,” “believes,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “expects,” “will,” “may,” and “intends,” other than historical facts, are forward-looking and that actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such statements.

Overall, Permian Basin Royalty Trust is described in its public disclosures as an express trust that provides unitholders with exposure to royalty income from mature producing oil and gas properties in Texas, with distributions determined by net proceeds from those properties after production costs, taxes, and administrative expenses, and subject to the terms of the Trust Indenture and the performance and reporting of the operators of the underlying properties.