Christopher L. Washburn Sells 1,416 Shares of Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD) Stock

Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD) CAO Christopher L. Washburn sold 1,416 shares of Pioneer Natural Resources stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.95, for a total value of $369,505.20. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,302,140.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Pioneer Natural Resources Price Performance

NYSE:PXD traded up $2.50 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $262.50. The stock had a trading volume of 2,173,103 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,100,565. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.88. Pioneer Natural Resources has a 52 week low of $196.74 and a 52 week high of $263.08. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $236.00 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $233.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $61.33 billion, a PE ratio of 12.97 and a beta of 1.30.

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 the consensus estimate of $5.41 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.28 billion. Pioneer Natural Resources had a net margin of 25.28% and a return on equity of 22.42%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.91 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Pioneer Natural Resources will post 20.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pioneer Natural Resources Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were given a $2.56 dividend. This represents a $10.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. Pioneer Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.70%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group cut their target price on Pioneer Natural Resources from $269.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 14th. Mizuho raised their price target on Pioneer Natural Resources from $276.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Susquehanna raised their price target on Pioneer Natural Resources from $237.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Pioneer Natural Resources in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Pioneer Natural Resources from $243.00 to $224.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $254.90.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pioneer Natural Resources

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Pioneer Natural Resources by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 20,256,685 shares of the oil and gas development company’s stock valued at $4,555,323,000 after buying an additional 240,934 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Pioneer Natural Resources by 3.6% during the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,337,964 shares of the oil and gas development company’s stock worth $884,893,000 after acquiring an additional 149,026 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Pioneer Natural Resources by 46.4% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,242,203 shares of the oil and gas development company’s stock worth $968,877,000 after acquiring an additional 1,343,601 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its holdings in Pioneer Natural Resources by 7.6% during the third quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,259,731 shares of the oil and gas development company’s stock worth $748,271,000 after acquiring an additional 231,470 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Pioneer Natural Resources by 25.7% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,239,964 shares of the oil and gas development company’s stock worth $743,734,000 after purchasing an additional 662,891 shares in the last quarter. 80.57% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.