Ethos Financial Group LLC Takes Position in Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD)

Ethos Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 2,138 shares of the oil and gas development company’s stock, valued at approximately $481,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Pioneer Natural Resources in the third quarter valued at about $134,558,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Pioneer Natural Resources by 610.6% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 618,449 shares of the oil and gas development company’s stock valued at $141,965,000 after acquiring an additional 531,418 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Pioneer Natural Resources by 20,425.9% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 302,757 shares of the oil and gas development company’s stock valued at $68,084,000 after acquiring an additional 301,282 shares during the last quarter. Picton Mahoney Asset Management bought a new position in Pioneer Natural Resources in the fourth quarter valued at about $61,842,000. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 231,470 shares during the last quarter. 80.57% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on PXD shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Pioneer Natural Resources from $237.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $279.00 target price on shares of Pioneer Natural Resources in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Mizuho raised their target price on Pioneer Natural Resources from $276.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. StockNews.com started coverage on Pioneer Natural Resources in a report on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Susquehanna raised their target price on Pioneer Natural Resources from $246.00 to $278.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pioneer Natural Resources currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $264.10.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Pioneer Natural Resources news, CAO Christopher L. Washburn sold 1,416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $1,302,140.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director J Kenneth Thompson sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $250,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 16,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,017,500. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Christopher L. Washburn sold 1,416 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,990 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,302,140.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 36,766 shares of company stock valued at $9,067,373 in the last 90 days. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Pioneer Natural Resources Price Performance

Pioneer Natural Resources stock remained flat at $269.62 during midday trading on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $261.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $241.09. Pioneer Natural Resources has a 12 month low of $196.74 and a 12 month high of $278.83. The stock has a market cap of $63.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.32 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.20.

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 net margin of 24.28% and a return on equity of 21.21%. The firm had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $5.91 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Pioneer Natural Resources will post 22.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pioneer Natural Resources Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. Pioneer Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.70%.

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.