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Pioneer Natural (PXD) Q1 Earnings: What's in the Cards?

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Pioneer Natural Resources Company is expected to report first-quarter 2018 results on May 2, after the closing bell.

In the last reported quarter, the company delivered a positive earnings surprise of 60.5%. We note that Pioneer Natural outperformed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in the preceding four quarters with an average positive earnings surprise of 66.9%.
 

 

Let’s see how things are shaping up for this announcement.

Earnings Whisper

Our proven model does not show that Pioneer Natural is likely to beat estimates because it does not have the right combination of two key ingredients.

Zacks ESP: Earnings ESP, which represents the difference between the Most Accurate estimate and the Zacks Consensus Estimate, is 0.00%. You can uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they’re reported with our Earnings ESP Filter.

Zacks Rank: Pioneer Natural has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Note that stocks with a Zacks Ranks #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 have a significantly higher chance of beating earnings.

The Sell-rated stocks (#4 and 5) should never be considered going into an earnings announcement.

What is Driving the Better-Than-Expected Earnings?

Based in Irving, TX, Pioneer Natural is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for average sale price of natural gas is $2.61 per thousand cubic feet (Mcf), showing a rise from the last reported quarter’s $2.53 per Mcf and a fall from the year-ago quarter’s tally of $2.79 per Mcf. Moreover, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for natural gas production for the first quarter is 373 million cubic feet per day (Mmcfd), implying a decline from 377 Mmcfd in the last reported quarter but a rise from 339 Mmcfd in the prior-year quarter.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for average sales price of natural gas liquids in the first quarter is $24.18 per barrel, indicating an improvement from $21.64 per barrel in the last reported quarter and $19.33 per barrel in the year-ago quarter. The consensus estimate for production is 62 thousand barrels per day (MBD), unchanged from the fourth quarter of 2017 production of 62 MBD but showing an increase from the year-ago figure of 46.83 MBD.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for average crude oil sales price is pegged at $57 per barrel, reflecting rise from $53 per barrel in fourth-quarter 2017 and the year-ago quarter’s price of $49.05. Moreover, the consensus estimate for first-quarter 2018 crude oil per day production is pegged at 180 MBD, unchanged from the previous quarter but reflecting an improvement from the year-ago quarter’s 146 MBD.

We expect higher average realized prices for all commodities and production to drive revenues. Increased focus on Spraberry/Wolfcamp plays is expected to ramp up production.

Q1 Price Performance

During the quarter, the company’s shares lost 0.6% compared with the industry’s 4.4% decline.



 

Stocks to Consider

Here are some companies that you may consider as our model shows that these have the right combination of elements to post an earnings beat this quarter.

Solaris Oilfield Infrastructure, Inc. manufactures as well as provides patented mobile proppant management systems which unload, store and deliver proppant at oil and natural gas well sites. The company has an Earnings ESP of +6.28% and sports a Zacks Rank #1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

EOG Resources, Inc (EOG - Free Report) is a major independent oil and gas exploration and production company. The company has an Earnings ESP of +3.33% and a Zacks Rank #1.

Continental Resources, Inc is an independent oil and natural gas exploration and production company. The company has an Earnings ESP of +3.10% and carries a Zacks Rank #3.

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