Merit Financial Group LLC Purchases 297 Shares of Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD)

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD) by 18.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,883 shares of the oil and gas development company’s stock after purchasing an additional 297 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Pioneer Natural Resources were worth $424,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Pioneer Natural Resources by 0.6% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,015,751 shares of the oil and gas development company’s stock worth $4,594,616,000 after purchasing an additional 113,751 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Pioneer Natural Resources by 7.6% in the third 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 buying an additional 231,470 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Pioneer Natural Resources by 2.2% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,497,868 shares of the oil and gas development company’s stock valued at $573,386,000 after buying an additional 54,841 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Pioneer Natural Resources by 7.5% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,923,819 shares of the oil and gas development company’s stock valued at $443,574,000 after buying an additional 134,982 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Pioneer Natural Resources by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,637,919 shares of the oil and gas development company’s stock valued at $368,335,000 after buying an additional 165,560 shares during the period. 80.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on PXD shares. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $279.00 price objective on shares of Pioneer Natural Resources in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of Pioneer Natural Resources from $276.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Pioneer Natural Resources in a report on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Pioneer Natural Resources from $238.00 to $278.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of Pioneer Natural Resources from $230.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $264.10.

Pioneer Natural Resources Price Performance

Pioneer Natural Resources stock opened at $269.62 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $63.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.32 and a beta of 1.28. Pioneer Natural Resources has a 1-year low of $196.74 and a 1-year high of $278.83. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $260.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $240.89. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas development company reported $5.28 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.41 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.28 billion. Pioneer Natural Resources had a net margin of 24.28% and a return on equity of 21.21%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.91 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Pioneer Natural Resources will post 22.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pioneer Natural Resources Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were given a $2.56 dividend. This represents a $10.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. Pioneer Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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 value of $522,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,906,787.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Pioneer Natural Resources news, 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 value of $522,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 11,132 shares in the company, valued at $2,906,787.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark H. Kleinman sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.35, for a total transaction of $820,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 49,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,683,753.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 36,766 shares of company stock valued at $9,067,373. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

About Pioneer Natural Resources

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.