Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

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

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on PXD. Susquehanna increased their target price on shares of Pioneer Natural Resources from $246.00 to $278.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Mizuho raised their price objective on Pioneer Natural Resources from $276.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a sector perform rating and set a $279.00 price objective on shares of Pioneer Natural Resources in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Pioneer Natural Resources from $237.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Pioneer Natural Resources from $230.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock 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 issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $264.10.

Pioneer Natural Resources Stock Performance

PXD opened at $267.85 on Monday. Pioneer Natural Resources has a 12-month low of $196.74 and a 12-month high of $278.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.23 and a beta of 1.31. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $257.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $240.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas development company reported $5.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.41 by ($0.13). Pioneer Natural Resources had a return on equity of 22.42% and a net margin of 25.28%. The company had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.28 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.91 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Pioneer Natural Resources will post 22.47 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were given a dividend of $2.56 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $10.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.82%. Pioneer Natural Resources’s payout ratio is 24.70%.

Insider Activity at Pioneer Natural Resources

In other news, CAO Christopher L. Washburn sold 1,416 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.95, for a total transaction of $369,505.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,302,140.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Pioneer Natural Resources news, Director Scott D. Sheffield sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.25, for a total transaction of $2,352,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 462,112 shares in the company, valued at approximately $108,711,848. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $369,505.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,990 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,302,140.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 36,766 shares of company stock valued at $9,067,373 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pioneer Natural Resources

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pioneer Natural Resources during the 3rd quarter worth about $224,000. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its stake in Pioneer Natural Resources by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 4,339 shares of the oil and gas development company’s stock worth $996,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its holdings in Pioneer Natural Resources by 11.2% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 87,778 shares of the oil and gas development company’s stock valued at $20,150,000 after purchasing an additional 8,873 shares during the period. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA increased its stake in Pioneer Natural Resources by 200.0% in the third quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 1,050 shares of the oil and gas development company’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ulland Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Pioneer Natural Resources by 10.8% in the third quarter. Ulland Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,715 shares of the oil and gas development company’s stock worth $1,082,000 after purchasing an additional 460 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.