Freedom Broker Upgrades Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) to “Hold”

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) was upgraded by stock analysts at Freedom Broker from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a $258.00 price objective on the oil and gas company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $173.00. Freedom Broker‘s price target would suggest a potential downside of 8.89% from the stock’s current price.

PSX has been the topic of several other reports. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Phillips 66 from $264.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays lifted their target price on Phillips 66 from $216.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 12th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Phillips 66 from $235.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Mizuho cut shares of Phillips 66 from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $220.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Phillips 66 from $245.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $269.47.

Phillips 66 Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE PSX opened at $283.18 on Friday. Phillips 66 has a one year low of $127.16 and a one year high of $299.39. The company has a market capitalization of $110.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.15 and a beta of 0.69. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $266.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $198.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.34.

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The oil and gas company reported $14.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.73 by $2.35. Phillips 66 had a net margin of 7.27% and a return on equity of 33.12%. The firm had revenue of $50.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $44.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.52 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Phillips 66 will post 33.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Phillips 66 announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Friday, July 31st that authorizes the company to buy back $10 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to buy up to 11.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Phillips 66

In related news, EVP Brian Mandell sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.00, for a total value of $6,450,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 61,595 shares in the company, valued at $13,242,925. The trade was a 32.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Richard Harbison sold 52,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.76, for a total transaction of $11,657,896.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,094 shares in the company, valued at $8,747,673.44. This trade represents a 57.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 108,800 shares of company stock valued at $25,016,566. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Phillips 66

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Phillips 66 by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 21,572 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,109,000 after buying an additional 1,622 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in Phillips 66 by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 363 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in Phillips 66 by 142.5% during the 3rd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 97 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Cordgrass Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Phillips 66 in the 3rd quarter valued at about $297,000. Finally, Verity Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Phillips 66 by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Verity Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,704 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. 76.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Phillips 66

Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) is an energy manufacturing and logistics company headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company was established in 2012 following the separation of ConocoPhillips’ downstream and midstream businesses.

Phillips 66 operates across midstream, chemicals, refining and marketing. Its midstream activities include gathering, processing, transporting and storing crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Through its refining operations, the company converts crude oil and other feedstocks into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, lubricants and other refined petroleum products.

The company markets fuel and related products under the Phillips 66, 76 and Conoco brands, serving retail, commercial, aviation and industrial customers.