Sterling Investment Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD)

Sterling Investment Management LLC lowered its position in Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,516 shares of the oil and gas development company’s stock after selling 245 shares during the period. Pioneer Natural Resources makes up about 1.9% of Sterling Investment Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Sterling Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Pioneer Natural Resources were worth $2,590,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Pioneer Natural Resources by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,030 shares of the oil and gas development company’s stock worth $236,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC grew its position in Pioneer Natural Resources by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 2,855 shares of the oil and gas development company’s stock worth $655,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in Pioneer Natural Resources by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 1,436 shares of the oil and gas development company’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP grew its position in Pioneer Natural Resources by 20.0% during the 3rd quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 264 shares of the oil and gas development company’s stock worth $61,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its position in Pioneer Natural Resources by 19.1% during the 4th quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 281 shares of the oil and gas development company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.57% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Pioneer Natural Resources news, EVP Mark H. Kleinman sold 3,500 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 49,856 shares in the company, valued at $11,683,753.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Mark H. Kleinman sold 3,500 shares of the company’s 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 $11,683,753.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jerome D. Hall, Jr. sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.74, for a total transaction of $1,755,180.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 76,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,278,144.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 33,350 shares of company stock worth $8,175,628. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on PXD shares. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Pioneer Natural Resources in a research report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Pioneer Natural Resources from $237.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Pioneer Natural Resources from $276.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. UBS Group dropped 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 report on Thursday, December 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Pioneer Natural Resources from $243.00 to $224.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $254.90.

Pioneer Natural Resources Stock Performance

NYSE:PXD opened at $260.00 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.88. The company has a fifty day moving average of $235.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $233.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.74 billion, a PE ratio of 12.85 and a beta of 1.30. Pioneer Natural Resources has a fifty-two week low of $193.40 and a fifty-two week high of $260.42.

Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.28 billion. Pioneer Natural Resources had a return on equity of 22.42% and a net margin of 25.28%. The business’s revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.91 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Pioneer Natural Resources will post 20.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pioneer Natural Resources Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were given a dividend of $2.56 per share. This represents a $10.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. Pioneer Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.70%.

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.