Pioneer Natural (PXD) Q1 Earnings Beat On Permian Operations
Zacks Investment Research | May 07, 2019 08:31AM ET
Pioneer Natural Resources Company (NYSE:PXD) reported first-quarter 2019 earnings of $1.83 per share, excluding one-time items, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.61 and improving from the year-ago quarter’s $1.66.
Revenues and other income rose 12.2% year over year to $2,413 million from $2,150 million a year ago. The top line exceeded the consensus mark of $2,168 million.
The strong quarterly results were attributed to ramped-up Permian operations.
Production
Total production in the reported quarter averaged 333.4 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (MBOE/d), up 7% year over year. The upside can be attributed to higher activities in the Permian Basin.
Oil production averaged 206.3 thousand barrels per day (MBbl/d), up 13% year over year. Natural gas liquids (NGLs) production was marginally higher than the year-ago quarter figure. However, natural gas production amounted to 360.6 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) but was down from the year-ago quarter’s 378.9 MMcf/d.
Price Realization
On an oil equivalent basis, average realized price was $37.84 per barrel in the reported quarter compared with $45.11 a year ago. The company reported average realized crude price at $49.38 a barrel, down from $61.64 in the March quarter of 2018.
Average natural gas price dropped 3.5% year over year to $2.50 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf). Natural gas liquids were sold at $22.79 a barrel, down from $27.74 a year ago.
Cash, Debt and Capex
At the end of the quarter under review, cash balance totaled $511 million. Long-term debt summed $1,836 million, reflecting a debt-to-capitalization ratio of 15.8%.
Guidance
Pioneer Natural continues to project production in the Permian Basin at the range of 320-335 MBOE/D for 2019. This suggests a year-over-year increase of 12% to 17%.
For the second quarter, the company projects production from the prolific play at the band of 313-328 MBOE/D.
Through 2019, the upstream energy player intends to invest capital in the range of $3.1 billion to $3.4 billion.
In February 2019, the explorer and producer hiked its semi-annual cash dividend. Further, the company intends to raise dividends to reward stock holders with an annual yield of roughly 1% per share.
Zacks Rank and Key Picks
Pioneer Natural currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Meanwhile, a few better-ranked players in the energy space are Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (NYSE:APC) , ProPetro Holding Corp. (NYSE:PUMP) and TransCanada Corp. (TO:TRP) . Anadarko sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while ProPetro and TransCanada hold a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see Zacks Investment Research
Get The News You Want
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.