Reviewing Energy XXI Gulf Coast (EGC) & Pioneer Natural Resources (PXD)

Energy XXI Gulf Coast (NASDAQ: EGC) and Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD) are both oils/energy companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, valuation, dividends, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and risk.

Dividends

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Pioneer Natural Resources pays an annual dividend of $0.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.2%. Energy XXI Gulf Coast does not pay a dividend. Pioneer Natural Resources pays out 14.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend.

Risk and Volatility

Energy XXI Gulf Coast has a beta of 3.37, indicating that its stock price is 237% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Pioneer Natural Resources has a beta of 0.92, indicating that its stock price is 8% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Energy XXI Gulf Coast and Pioneer Natural Resources’ gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Energy XXI Gulf Coast	$511.64 million	0.59	-$341.01 million	($4.59)	-1.96
Pioneer Natural Resources	$5.46 billion	5.78	$833.00 million	$2.16	85.66

Pioneer Natural Resources has higher revenue and earnings than Energy XXI Gulf Coast. Energy XXI Gulf Coast is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Pioneer Natural Resources, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Energy XXI Gulf Coast and Pioneer Natural Resources’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Energy XXI Gulf Coast	-63.63%	-50.61%	-11.74%
Pioneer Natural Resources	15.56%	5.57%	3.64%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for Energy XXI Gulf Coast and Pioneer Natural Resources, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Energy XXI Gulf Coast	0	0	0	0	N/A
Pioneer Natural Resources	0	4	26	1	2.90

Pioneer Natural Resources has a consensus target price of $222.51, indicating a potential upside of 20.26%. Given Pioneer Natural Resources’ higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Pioneer Natural Resources is more favorable than Energy XXI Gulf Coast.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

68.5% of Energy XXI Gulf Coast shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 87.5% of Pioneer Natural Resources shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.7% of Energy XXI Gulf Coast shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.9% of Pioneer Natural Resources shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Pioneer Natural Resources beats Energy XXI Gulf Coast on 14 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Energy XXI Gulf Coast

Energy XXI Gulf Coast, Inc., an exploration and production company, engages in the acquisition, development, exploitation, and operation of oil and natural gas properties in the United States Gulf Coast region. It primarily operates properties offshore on the Gulf of Mexico Shelf, as well as onshore in Louisiana and Texas. As of December 31, 2017, the company had total proved reserves of 88.2 million barrel of oil equivalent; and operated or had an interest in 577 gross producing wells on 421,974 net developed acres, including interests in 55 producing fields. Energy XXI Gulf Coast, Inc. was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.

About Pioneer Natural Resources

Pioneer Natural Resources Company operates as an independent oil and gas exploration and production company in the United States. The company explores for, develops, and produces oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and gas. It has operations primarily in the Permian Basin in West Texas, the Eagle Ford Shale play in South Texas, the Raton field in southeast Colorado, and the West Panhandle field in the Texas Panhandle. As of December 31, 2017, the company had proved undeveloped reserves and proved developed reserves of approximately 45 million barrels of oil, 22 million barrels of NGLs, and 291 billion cubic feet of gas; and owned interests in 10 gas processing plants and 4 treating facilities. Pioneer Natural Resources Company is headquartered in Irving, Texas.