The Iran War Sent Oil Above $100. These 3 Royalty Trusts Are Quietly Paying Double Digit Yields Because of It

Oil is back in the headlines, and royalty trusts are quietly soaking up the rebound. With WTI crude flirting with and rising above $100 per barrel of late, the income side of the energy trade looks more interesting than it has in years. Royalty structures pass through commodity exposure without the operating cost burden of producers, and right now several of them sit well under $50 a share, putting them within reach of any retail investor scanning for yield.

With that in mind, here are three oil and gas royalty names trading under $50 that look attractive on fundamentals, distribution trajectory, and exposure to the recent crude rebound.

North European Oil Royalty Trust (NYSE: NRT)

North European Oil Royalty Trust (NYSE:NRT) is a grantor trust that holds royalty rights on oil and gas concessions in Germany and pays out income quarterly. Shares ended April, up 29.08% year to date and 109.3% over the past year.

The trust trades at a trailing PE near 8 with a profit margin of 91.9% and a dividend yield of 11.8%. Q4 2025 distributions jumped to $0.31 per unit versus $0.02 a year earlier, and the cumulative 12-month payout rose 69% to $0.81 per unit. The bull case is simple: a pure-play passive royalty stream with no operating costs, riding stronger German gas pricing.

The risk is that these are depleting assets and European energy policy can shift quickly. Still, for income hunters, the rebound looks intact.

Cross Timbers Royalty Trust (NYSE: CRT)

Cross Timbers Royalty Trust (NYSE:CRT) holds net profits interests in oil and gas properties across Texas and Oklahoma. The units closed up 37.5% year to date as energy opportunities continue to attract.

This is the contrarian pick. The March 2026 distribution collapsed to $0.000923 per unit as $5.76 million in unrecovered excess costs on Texas Working Interest NPIs suppressed payouts. April 2026 already showed signs of stabilization with a $0.06972 distribution, and Oklahoma recovered $39,000 of excess costs. With WTI back near triple digits and underlying oil priced at $56.83 per barrel in the latest reported month, the leverage to a sustained price recovery is meaningful.

The risk is timing: excess cost overhangs can persist for quarters. For patient investors, that is exactly what creates the discount.

Kimbell Royalty Partners (NYSE: KRP)

Kimbell Royalty Partners (NYSE:KRP) owns mineral and royalty interests across major U.S. onshore basins, with the Permian leading. Units closed out the month of April strongly, up 34.32% year to date and 43.81% over the past year.

Q4 2025 was a clean beat: EPS of $0.21 versus the $0.15 estimate and revenue of $82.45 million versus $69.07 million expected, up 16.4% year over year. Full-year 2025 revenue reached $333.83 million with EPS of $0.62. The dividend yield sits at 10.4%, and analyst consensus carries a price target of $17.80 with a forward PE of 9. CEO Robert Ravnaas called “2025 another outstanding year for Kimbell”, with 85 rigs on acreage representing 16.1% of U.S. land rigs and a fresh $100 million unit repurchase program.

The risk is leverage: $448.5 million of outstanding debt ties results to interest rates and borrowing base redeterminations. Even so, the beat-and-raise cadence and active consolidation strategy in a fragmented royalty market make KRP the highest-quality name of the three.

A low share price is not an investment thesis on its own. Royalty trusts and MLPs come with tax complexity, distribution variability, and depleting reserves that demand close attention. Use this list as a starting point, read the latest filings, and size positions to your own risk tolerance before acting.