Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) Stock Jumps 3% – What’s Next?

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX)’s stock price traded up 3% during trading on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $258.78 and last traded at $258.34. 3,602,570 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 25% from the average daily volume of 2,870,673 shares. The stock had previously closed at $250.70.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PSX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Phillips 66 from $235.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Phillips 66 from $245.00 to $274.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Phillips 66 from $284.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Citigroup lifted their target price on Phillips 66 from $297.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Phillips 66 from $216.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 12th. Two equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Phillips 66 presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $270.12.

Phillips 66 Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 1.34. The firm has a market cap of $103.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.14 and a beta of 0.69. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $268.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $203.82.

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The oil and gas company reported $14.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $11.73 by $2.35. The firm had revenue of $50.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $44.91 billion. Phillips 66 had a net margin of 7.27% and a return on equity of 33.12%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Phillips 66 will post 33.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Phillips 66 Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 17th will be issued a dividend of $1.33 per share. This is an increase from Phillips 66’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. This represents a $5.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 17th. Phillips 66’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 16.22%.

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

Insider Transactions at Phillips 66

In other news, EVP Brian Mandell sold 23,400 shares of Phillips 66 stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.06, for a total value of $6,202,404.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 61,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,326,370.70. This trade represents a 27.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Phillips 66

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PSX. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Phillips 66 in the second quarter worth about $5,766,779,000. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Phillips 66 by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,044,694 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,402,856,000 after buying an additional 271,841 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Phillips 66 in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,093,206,000. Amundi boosted its holdings in shares of Phillips 66 by 62.0% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 3,667,451 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $668,137,000 after buying an additional 1,403,493 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its position in shares of Phillips 66 by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,971,036 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $541,263,000 after buying an additional 35,167 shares during 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 integrated energy company with businesses spanning refining, midstream operations, chemicals, and marketing. It processes crude oil and other feedstocks into transportation fuels and other petroleum products, including gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. The company’s midstream operations include the transportation, processing, storage, and marketing of crude oil, natural gas, natural gas liquids, and refined products. Phillips 66 also markets fuels and related products through retail and wholesale channels, including under the Phillips 66, 76, and JET brands.