Pioneer Natural Resources Swings To a Loss

Pioneer Natural Resources Co. reported late Tuesday a first-quarter loss of $78 million, or 52 cents a share, reversing a year-ago profit of $123 million, or 85 cents a share. Adjusted to exclude one-time items, the company had a loss of $56 million, or 3 cents a share. Revenue for the three months ended March 31 fell to $868 million from $944 million. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected the Dallas-based oil and gas exploration company to report earnings of 6 cents a share on $718.8 million in sales. Shares of Pioneer were flat at $162.98 in after-hours trade. Pioneer shares have fallen almost 18% over the past 12 months, compared with a 19.4% advance by the S&P 500. The company, actively engaged in hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, saw its stock come under pressure this week following comments by investor David Einhorn that U.S. oil drilling companies are significantly overvalued.