2 Bullish Takeaways From Pioneer Natural Resources' Latest Blowout Quarter

Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE: PXD) reported one of the best quarters in the company's 25-year history last week, with revenues more than doubling from the same quarter a year earlier.

Rising prices for crude oil are behind the move. After hitting historic lows during the pandemic, oil prices have reached their highest level since 2014. As countries around the world have rolled back coronavirus restrictions, consumers have hit the road -- making good on travel plans that were postponed by the pandemic.

For Q4 (period ended Dec. 31), Pioneer's earnings per share grew 11% from the prior quarter, coming in at $4.58 -- beating the consensus estimate by $0.53 or 13%. Revenues were $4.3 billion, up from $1.9 billion in the same year-ago quarter. The reason for the upside surprise in earnings? The ongoing rally in crude oil. Pioneer realized an average price of $76.38/barrel for oil during the quarter. The price of oil is notoriously volatile. Sometimes driven by supply and demand -- other times by geopolitics.

Source Fool.com