Irving-based Pioneer Natural Resources (PDX) reported $2.4 billion in net income for its second quarter of 2022.
Boosted by high oil prices amid global tension, Pioneer exceeded Wall Street expectations, reporting a net income of $9.30 per share compared to Wall Street’s $8.81 per share prediction. Earnings, adjusted for non-recurring costs, came to $9.36 per share.
Pioneer attributed strong second quarter growth to oil per barrel trading above $100.
Company CEO Scott Sheffield said the company is focused on developing its top-tier assets, driving best-in-class margins, and delivering the highest free cash flow per barrel produced.
“Our differentiated investment framework strategy generated $2.7 billion of free cash flow during the second quarter, with greater than 95% of the free cash flow being returned to shareholders through our base-plus-variable dividend and opportunistic share repurchases,” said Sheffield in a release.
Pioneer also announced it had repurchased $750 million or 3.3 million shares since the end of the first quarter. “Of this, $250 million was purchased in July at an average price of $213 per share,” the release stated.
On Thursday, Pioneer closed at $212.86 per share, down more than 8.3% from its opening.
Highlights
- Generated second quarter solid free cash flow of $2.7 billion
- Declared quarterly base-plus-variable dividend of $8.57 per share to be paid during the third quarter; includes increasing the quarterly base dividend by greater than 40%
- Repurchased $750 million of shares since the end of the first quarter (3.3 million shares), including $250 million of shares repurchased during July.
- Returned greater than 95% of second quarter free cash flow to shareholders