Sapient Capital LLC Takes $13.91 Million Position in Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD)

Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 61,847 shares of the oil and gas development company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,908,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Pioneer Natural Resources by 25.7% in the 3rd 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. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Pioneer Natural Resources in the third quarter worth $134,558,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of 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 worth $141,965,000 after buying an additional 531,418 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Pioneer Natural Resources by 20,425.9% during 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 buying an additional 301,282 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 231,470 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.57% of the company’s stock.

Pioneer Natural Resources Stock Performance

Pioneer Natural Resources stock remained flat at $269.62 during trading hours on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $258.94 and a 200-day moving average of $240.84. Pioneer Natural Resources has a 1-year low of $196.74 and a 1-year high of $278.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $62.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.32 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 22nd. The oil and gas development company reported $5.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.41 by ($0.13). The business had revenue of $5.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.28 billion. Pioneer Natural Resources had a return on equity of 22.42% and a net margin of 25.28%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.91 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Pioneer Natural Resources will post 22.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pioneer Natural Resources Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were paid a dividend of $2.56 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $10.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.80%. Pioneer Natural Resources’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.70%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PXD shares. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Pioneer Natural Resources from $230.00 to $282.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Pioneer Natural Resources from $246.00 to $278.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $279.00 price objective on shares of Pioneer Natural Resources in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Stifel Nicolaus increased 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, Mizuho lifted 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, sixteen have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pioneer Natural Resources has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $264.10.

Insider Activity at Pioneer Natural Resources

In related news, EVP Mark H. Kleinman sold 3,500 shares of Pioneer Natural Resources stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.35, for a total value of $820,225.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 49,856 shares in the company, valued at $11,683,753.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Phillip A. Gobe sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.12, for a total value of $522,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,906,787.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark H. Kleinman sold 3,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.35, for a total value of $820,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 49,856 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,683,753.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 36,766 shares of company stock worth $9,067,373 over the last quarter. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.