Yahoo Finance Pioneer Natural Resources Company's (NYSE:PXD) Fundamentals Look Pretty Strong: Could The Market Be Wrong About The Stock?
It is hard to get excited after looking at Pioneer Natural Resources' (NYSE:PXD) recent performance, when its stock has declined 7.0% over the past month. However, stock prices are usually driven by a company’s financial performance over the long term, which in this case looks quite promising. Particularly, we will be paying attention to Pioneer Natural Resources' ROE today.
Return on equity or ROE is an important factor to be considered by a shareholder because it tells them how effectively their capital is being reinvested. Simply put, it is used to assess the profitability of a company in relation to its equity capital.
Check out our latest analysis for Pioneer Natural Resources
How Do You Calculate Return On Equity?
The formula for return on equity is:
Return on Equity = Net Profit (from continuing operations) ÷ Shareholders' Equity
So, based on the above formula, the ROE for Pioneer Natural Resources is:
32% = US$7.1b ÷ US$22b (Based on the trailing twelve months to March 2023).
The 'return' is the income the business earned over the last year. That means that for every $1 worth of shareholders' equity, the company generated $0.32 in profit.
What Has ROE Got To Do With Earnings Growth?
Thus far, we have learned that ROE measures how efficiently a company is generating its profits. We now need to evaluate how much profit the company reinvests or "retains" for future growth which then gives us an idea about the growth potential of the company. Assuming all else is equal, companies that have both a higher return on equity and higher profit retention are usually the ones that have a higher growth rate when compared to companies that don't have the same features.
A Side By Side comparison of Pioneer Natural Resources' Earnings Growth And 32% ROE
To begin with, Pioneer Natural Resources has a pretty high ROE which is interesting. Even when compared to the industry average of 33% the company's ROE is pretty decent. As a result, Pioneer Natural Resources' remarkable 54% net income growth seen over the past 5 years is likely aided by its high ROE.
We then compared Pioneer Natural Resources' net income growth with the industry and we're pleased to see that the company's growth figure is higher when compared with the industry which has a growth rate of 22% in the same period.
Earnings growth is a huge factor in stock valuation. It’s important for an investor to know whether the market has priced in the company's expected earnings growth (or decline). This then helps them determine if the stock is placed for a bright or bleak future. Has the market priced in the future outlook for PXD? You can find out in our latest intrinsic value infographic research report.
Is Pioneer Natural Resources Using Its Retained Earnings Effectively?
The high three-year median payout ratio of 75% (implying that it keeps only 25% of profits) for Pioneer Natural Resources suggests that the company's growth wasn't really hampered despite it returning most of the earnings to its shareholders.
Moreover, Pioneer Natural Resources is determined to keep sharing its profits with shareholders which we infer from its long history of paying a dividend for at least ten years. Existing analyst estimates suggest that the company's future payout ratio is expected to drop to 24% over the next three years. Regardless, the future ROE for Pioneer Natural Resources is predicted to decline to 19% despite the anticipated decrease in the payout ratio. We reckon that there could probably be other factors that could be driving the forseen decline in the company's ROE.
Summary
Overall, we are quite pleased with Pioneer Natural Resources' performance. Especially the high ROE, Which has contributed to the impressive growth seen in earnings. Despite the company reinvesting only a small portion of its profits, it still has managed to grow its earnings so that is appreciable. Having said that, on studying current analyst estimates, we were concerned to see that while the company has grown its earnings in the past, analysts expect its earnings to shrink in the future. To know more about the latest analysts predictions for the company, check out this visualization of analyst forecasts for the company.
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This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.
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