Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) Reaches New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $265.85 and last traded at $265.3890, with a volume of 1069079 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $257.06.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on PSX. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on Phillips 66 from $240.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Guggenheim upgraded Phillips 66 to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Mizuho upgraded Phillips 66 from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $170.00 to $212.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Phillips 66 from $207.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Phillips 66 from $209.00 to $264.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.76.

Phillips 66 Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.32. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $224.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $190.40. The stock has a market cap of $106.13 billion, a PE ratio of 15.16 and a beta of 0.71.

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas company reported $9.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.50 by $1.91. The firm had revenue of $52.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.60 billion. Phillips 66 had a net margin of 4.54% and a return on equity of 19.93%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.38 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Phillips 66 will post 24.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Phillips 66 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 18th were issued a $1.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $5.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Phillips 66’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.95%.

Phillips 66 announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Friday, July 31st that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 11.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Phillips 66 news, EVP Brian Mandell sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.00, for a total value of $6,450,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 61,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,242,925. This represents a 32.75% decrease in their position. The sale 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 that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.76, for a total value of $11,657,896.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 39,094 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders have sold 100,507 shares of company stock valued at $21,770,810 over the last 90 days. 0.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Phillips 66

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Phillips 66 during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $384,000. MUFG Securities EMEA plc increased its position in Phillips 66 by 113.5% in the fourth quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 16,518 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,131,000 after buying an additional 8,783 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Phillips 66 in the second quarter valued at $5,766,779,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in shares of Phillips 66 by 543.7% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 128,156 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $23,348,000 after acquiring an additional 108,248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service increased its holdings in shares of Phillips 66 by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 614,059 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $79,238,000 after acquiring an additional 11,960 shares during the period. 76.93% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Phillips 66 Company Profile

Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) is an energy company that operates across the midstream, chemicals, refining and marketing sectors. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, the company was established in 2012 when ConocoPhillips separated its downstream businesses into an independent company.

The company’s midstream operations include transportation, processing, storage and other infrastructure for crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Phillips 66 also owns and operates refineries that process crude oil into transportation fuels, lubricants, specialty products and other refined petroleum products.

Phillips 66 markets gasoline, diesel and other fuels under the Phillips 66, Conoco and 76 brands, primarily in the United States.