Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD) Given Sector Perform Rating at Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed their sector perform rating on shares of Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD - Free Report) in a research note published on Thursday, Benzinga reports. Royal Bank of Canada currently has a $279.00 price objective on the oil and gas development company's stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Pioneer Natural Resources from $238.00 to $278.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. StockNews.com began coverage on Pioneer Natural Resources in a report on Friday, April 5th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Mizuho raised their price objective on Pioneer Natural Resources from $276.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. UBS Group decreased their target price on Pioneer Natural Resources from $269.00 to $250.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 14th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Pioneer Natural Resources from $237.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, March 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $259.00.

Pioneer Natural Resources Stock Down 0.2 %

PXD stock traded down $0.62 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $274.70. The stock had a trading volume of 1,494,691 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,021,484. The stock has a market capitalization of $64.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.42 and a beta of 1.31. 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 $275.83. The company has a fifty day moving average of $244.87 and a 200 day moving average of $236.31.

Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 during 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.91 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Pioneer Natural Resources will post 20.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pioneer Natural Resources Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. Pioneer Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.70%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Pioneer Natural Resources news, Director Phillip A. Gobe sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $261.12, for a total transaction of $522,240.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 11,132 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,906,787.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Phillip A. Gobe sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.12, for a total transaction of $522,240.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 11,132 shares in the company, valued at $2,906,787.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark H. Kleinman sold 3,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $234.35, for a total transaction of $820,225.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 49,856 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,683,753.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 36,766 shares of company stock worth $9,067,373 in the last 90 days. 0.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pioneer Natural Resources

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PXD. Hartford Financial Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Pioneer Natural Resources by 61.1% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 116 shares of the oil and gas development company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Sachetta LLC bought a new position in Pioneer Natural Resources in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. BluePath Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pioneer Natural Resources in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Ancora Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Pioneer Natural Resources by 77.4% during the first quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 149 shares of the oil and gas development company's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DecisionPoint Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pioneer Natural Resources during the second quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.57% 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.