Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $143.76 and last traded at $143.6680, with a volume of 1338119 shares. The stock had previously closed at $139.88.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Phillips 66 from $130.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Phillips 66 from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 1st. Mizuho increased their price target on Phillips 66 from $140.00 to $142.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Wolfe Research lifted their price objective on Phillips 66 from $158.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Phillips 66 from $133.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Phillips 66 has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $147.88.

Phillips 66 Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $135.15 and a 200 day moving average of $128.84. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market cap of $57.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.92.

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The oil and gas company reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.38. Phillips 66 had a return on equity of 5.53% and a net margin of 1.12%.The firm had revenue of $33.69 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $32.29 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.04 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Phillips 66 will post 6.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Phillips 66 Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 17th were issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 17th. Phillips 66’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 131.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Phillips 66

In related news, CFO Kevin J. Mitchell sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.00, for a total transaction of $4,140,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 89,771 shares in the company, valued at $12,388,398. This trade represents a 25.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brian Mandell sold 26,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.68, for a total value of $3,607,216.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 56,838 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,825,455.84. This trade represents a 31.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 86,093 shares of company stock valued at $11,933,256. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Phillips 66

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. L2 Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Phillips 66 by 4.0% in the third quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 1,893 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $257,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Phillips 66 by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 15,658 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,130,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Phillips 66 by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,636 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $631,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Phillips 66 by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC now owns 6,124 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $833,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Portside Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Phillips 66 by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,033 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.93% of the company’s stock.

About Phillips 66

Phillips 66 operates as an energy manufacturing and logistics company in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Midstream, Chemicals, Refining, and Marketing and Specialties (M&S). The Midstream segment transports crude oil and other feedstocks; delivers refined petroleum products to market; provides terminaling and storage services for crude oil and refined petroleum products; transports, stores, fractionates, exports, and markets natural gas liquids; provides other fee-based processing services; and gathers, processes, transports, and markets natural gas.