Wall Street Zen Upgrades Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) to “Strong-Buy”

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Phillips 66 from $183.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Phillips 66 from $140.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Argus lifted their price target on shares of Phillips 66 from $185.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 14th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Phillips 66 from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 21st. Finally, UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $212.00 price objective on shares of Phillips 66 in a report on Monday, June 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.72.

Phillips 66 Stock Performance

NYSE PSX opened at $207.72 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. Phillips 66 has a twelve month low of $118.07 and a twelve month high of $216.08. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $183.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $168.98. The firm has a market cap of $83.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.16 and a beta of 0.69.

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The oil and gas company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.54) by $1.03. Phillips 66 had a return on equity of 10.98% and a net margin of 2.99%.The company had revenue of $32.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $35.86 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.90) EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Phillips 66 will post 22.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Phillips 66

In other Phillips 66 news, Director Kevin Omar Meyers purchased 175 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $173.12 per share, with a total value of $30,296.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 16,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,908,242.88. The trade was a 1.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Kevin J. Mitchell sold 29,400 shares of Phillips 66 stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.00, for a total value of $4,998,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 97,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,553,920. This represents a 23.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 41,021 shares of company stock valued at $7,195,257. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Phillips 66

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Accordant Advisory Group Inc lifted its position in Phillips 66 by 900.0% in the fourth quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 200 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Phillips 66 during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. NFSG Corp increased its position in Phillips 66 by 105.6% during the first quarter. NFSG Corp now owns 146 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Phillips 66 during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, SWAN Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Phillips 66 by 1,055.6% in the fourth quarter. SWAN Capital LLC now owns 208 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.93% of the company’s stock.

About Phillips 66

Phillips 66 (NYSE: PSX) is an independent energy manufacturing and logistics company engaged primarily in refining, midstream transportation, marketing and chemicals. The company processes crude oil into transportation fuels, lubricants and other petroleum products, operates pipeline and storage infrastructure, and participates in petrochemical production through strategic investments. Phillips 66 serves commercial, industrial and retail customers and positions its operations across the value chain of the downstream energy sector.

The company’s principal activities include refining crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and feedstocks for petrochemical production; operating midstream assets such as pipelines, terminals and fractionators that move and store crude oil and natural gas liquids; and marketing and distributing fuels and lubricants through wholesale and retail channels.