Pioneer Natural Resources Company Just Reported Yearly Earnings: Have Analysts Changed Their Mind On The Stock?
Pioneer Natural Resources Company (NYSE:PXD) last week reported its latest annual results, which makes it a good time for investors to dive in and see if the business is performing in line with expectations. Results were roughly in line with estimates, with revenues of US$9.3b and statutory earnings per share of US$4.50. Earnings are an important time for investors, as they can track a company's performance, look at what top analysts are forecasting for next year, and see if there's been a change in sentiment towards the company. So we gathered the latest post-earnings forecasts to see what analysts' statutory forecasts suggest is in store for next year.
Check out our latest analysis for Pioneer Natural Resources
After the latest results, the 21 analysts covering Pioneer Natural Resources are now predicting revenues of US$10.9b in 2020. If met, this would reflect a decent 17% improvement in sales compared to the last 12 months. Statutory earnings per share are expected to soar 105% to US$9.30. Yet prior to the latest earnings, analysts had been forecasting revenues of US$10.2b and earnings per share (EPS) of US$9.41 in 2020. There doesn't appear to have been a major change in analyst sentiment following the results, other than the slight bump in revenue estimates.
Even though revenue forecasts increased, there was no change to the consensus price target of US$181, suggesting analysts are focused on earnings as the driver of value creation. The consensus price target just an average of individual analyst targets, so - considering that the price target changed, it would be handy to see how wide the range of underlying estimates is. Currently, the most bullish analyst values Pioneer Natural Resources at US$246 per share, while the most bearish prices it at US$147. These price targets show that analysts do have some differing views on the business, but the estimates do not vary enough to suggest to us that some are betting on wild success or utter failure.
In addition, we can look to Pioneer Natural Resources's past performance and see whether business is expected to improve, and if the company is expected to perform better than wider market. We would highlight that Pioneer Natural Resources's revenue growth is expected to slow, with forecast 17% increase next year well below the historical 26%p.a. growth over the last five years. Juxtapose this against the other companies in the market with analyst coverage, which are forecast to grow their revenues (in aggregate) 4.4% next year. So it's pretty clear that, while Pioneer Natural Resources's revenue growth is expected to slow, it's still expected to grow faster than the market itself.
The Bottom Line
The most obvious conclusion from these results is that there's been no major change in the business' prospects in recent times, with analysts holding earnings per share steady, in line with previous estimates. Pleasantly, analysts also upgraded their revenue estimates, and their forecasts suggest the business is expected to grow faster than the wider market. There was no real change to the consensus price target, suggesting that the intrinsic value of the business has not undergone any major changes with the latest estimates.
With that in mind, we wouldn't be too quick to come to a conclusion on Pioneer Natural Resources. Long-term earnings power is much more important than next year's profits. We have forecasts for Pioneer Natural Resources going out to 2024, and you can see them free on our platform here.
You can also view our analysis of Pioneer Natural Resources's balance sheet, and whether we think Pioneer Natural Resources is carrying too much debt, for free on our platform here.
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