5 Oil and Gas Stocks to Buy According to Billionaire Steve Cohen

3. Pioneer Natural Resources Company (NYSE:PXD)

Point72 Asset Management’s Stake Value: $119.73 million

Percentage of Point72 Asset Management’s 13F Portfolio: 0.47%

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 54

Billionaire Steve Cohen increased his stake in Pioneer Natural Resources Company (NYSE:PXD) by 70% in the first quarter of 2022, owning roughly 479,000 shares worth $119.7 million. Headquartered in Texas, the company is a major producer of oil in the United States, operating primarily in the Cline Shale of the Permian Basin in West Texas.

Out of all the hedge funds tracked by Insider Monkey at the end of March, 54 reported long bets on Pioneer Natural Resources Company (NYSE:PXD) shares, showing vastly improving investor sentiment over the previous quarter where 43 hedge funds were bullish on PXD shares. With a nearly $150 million stake, Abrams Bison Investments was the leading Q1 shareholder of Pioneer Natural Resources Company (NYSE:PXD).

Upward trends in the energy markets have allowed Pioneer Natural Resources Company (NYSE:PXD) to post great returns. The stock has climbed 28.93% in the last 12 months, and offers an impressive 8.14% dividend yield as of July 6.

On June 14, Pioneer Natural Resources Company (NYSE:PXD) was given an unchanged ‘Overweight’ rating by Barclays analyst Jeanine Wai, who raised the price target to $339 from $302. This was part of the analyst’s bullish outlook on oil and exploration stocks after Barclays updated its oil price forecast, anticipating hikes of $11 and $23 in 2022 and 2023, respectively. The analyst sees “healthy upside and compelling yield despite secular headwinds.”

Here is what Carillon Tower Advisers had to say about Pioneer Natural Resources Company (NYSE:PXD) in its Q1 2022 investor letter:

“Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD) performed well in a strong energy sector. Pioneer stood out recently with a pledge to return a large majority of free cash flow to shareowners through dividends and stock buybacks, and ended hedging to give shareowners more earnings and dividend potential should oil and gas prices continue to rise.”