Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD) Receives New Coverage from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD) in a research note published on Thursday. The firm issued a hold rating on the oil and gas development company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on PXD. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Pioneer Natural Resources from $243.00 to $224.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Pioneer Natural Resources from $237.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Pioneer Natural Resources from $269.00 to $250.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Pioneer Natural Resources from $276.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $254.90.

Pioneer Natural Resources Stock Up 1.0 %

Pioneer Natural Resources stock opened at $262.50 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $236.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $233.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $61.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.97 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Pioneer Natural Resources has a 1-year low of $196.74 and a 1-year high of $263.08.

Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas development company reported $5.28 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.41 by ($0.13). The firm had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.28 billion. Pioneer Natural Resources had a net margin of 25.28% and a return on equity of 22.42%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.91 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Pioneer Natural Resources will post 20.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Pioneer Natural Resources Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $2.56 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $10.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.90%. Pioneer Natural Resources’s payout ratio is 24.70%.

Insider Activity at Pioneer Natural Resources

In related news, Director Phillip A. Gobe sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.12, for a total transaction of $522,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 11,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,906,787.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Pioneer Natural Resources news, CAO Christopher L. Washburn sold 1,416 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.95, for a total transaction of $369,505.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,990 shares in the company, valued at $1,302,140.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Phillip A. Gobe sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.12, for a total transaction of $522,240.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 11,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,906,787.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 36,766 shares of company stock valued at $9,067,373. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pioneer Natural Resources

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PXD. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Pioneer Natural Resources by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,256,685 shares of the oil and gas development company’s stock worth $4,555,323,000 after acquiring an additional 240,934 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Pioneer Natural Resources by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,337,964 shares of the oil and gas development company’s stock valued at $884,893,000 after buying an additional 149,026 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Pioneer Natural Resources by 46.4% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,242,203 shares of the oil and gas development company’s stock valued at $968,877,000 after buying an additional 1,343,601 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in Pioneer Natural Resources by 7.6% during the 3rd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,259,731 shares of the oil and gas development company’s stock valued at $748,271,000 after purchasing an additional 231,470 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Pioneer Natural Resources by 25.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,239,964 shares of the oil and gas development company’s stock valued at $743,734,000 after purchasing an additional 662,891 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 80.57% of the company’s stock.

Pioneer Natural Resources Company Profile

Pioneer Natural Resources Company operates as an independent oil and gas exploration and production company in the United States. The company explores for, develops, and produces oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and gas. It has operations in the Midland Basin in West Texas. The company was founded in 1997 and is headquartered in Irving, Texas.