Pioneer Natural (PXD) Tops Q3 Earnings and Revenue Estimates

Pioneer Natural Resources Company PXD reported third-quarter 2017 adjusted earnings of 48 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 30 cents. Notably, it also increased from the year-earlier quarter’s adjusted earnings of 13 cents. Higher price realizations along with higher production aided the growth.

Revenues and other income in the quarter increased over 23% year over year to $1,460 million from $1,186 million. The top line also beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1,193 million.

Pioneer Natural Resources Company Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise

Pioneer Natural Resources Company Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise | Pioneer Natural Resources Company Quote

Production

Total production in the reported quarter averaged approximately 276 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (MBOE/d), up 15.5% year over year. Robust yield from core growth assets —  particularly Spraberry field and Wolfcamp Shale — boosted growth.

Oil production averaged 162 thousand barrels per day (MBbl/d), up 21% year over year. Natural gas liquids (NGLs) production jumped 15.9% year over year to 57 MBbl/d.

Natural gas production increased to 340 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) from the year-ago level of 332.4 MMcf/d but lagged the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 374 MMcf/d.

Price Realization

On an oil equivalent basis, average realized price was $33.72 per barrel in the reported quarter compared with $29.24 a year ago. The average realized price for oil was $45.35 per barrel compared with $41.44 in the year-ago quarter.

Average natural gas price increased 6.2% year over year to $2.58 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf). Natural gas liquids were sold at $18.96 per barrel as against $12.46 in the year-ago quarter.

Cash, Debt and Capex

At the end of the quarter, cash balance was $636 million. Long-term debt was $2,282 million, which represents a debt-to-capitalization ratio of 17.7% as against 20.7% in the year-ago quarter.

Capital Outlay

For 2017, Pioneer Natural increased total capital expenditure outlay to $2.75 billion from $2.7 billion. Of this, the company has planned drilling capex of $2.475 billion and capital for vertical integration worth $275 million.

An amount of $2,350 million has been allocated for the northern Spraberry/Wolfcamp area, $105 million for Eagle Ford Shale and $20 million for other assets.

Guidance

Pioneer expects production in the range of 292 MBOE/d to 302 MBOE/d for fourth-quarter 2017. For fourth quarter, the company expects production costs to average $7.50 per BOE to $9.50, while general and administrative expenses are expected in the range of $80 million to $85 million.

Q3 Price Performance

The pricing chart shows that the company’s shares have underperformed the industry in the last three months. During this period, the company’s shares have declined 7.5% as against the industry’s rally of 5.1%.

Zacks Rank

Pioneer Natural Resources currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). A few other top-ranked players in the energy sector include Braskem SA BAK, ConocoPhillips COP and Noble Midstream Partners LP NBLX. All these stocks sport a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The largest petrochemical operator in Latin America, Braskem, delivered positive earnings surprise of 68.54% in the preceding quarter.

ConocoPhillips, based in Houston, TX, is a major global exploration and production (E&P) company. It delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 152.34% in the last four quarters.

Noble Midstream Partners, headquartered in Houston, TX, has diversified energy infrastructure properties. The company delivered positive earnings surprise of 30.67% in the preceding quarter.

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