Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) Reaches New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $190.61 and last traded at $184.8350, with a volume of 2804072 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $188.28.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Argus boosted their price objective on Phillips 66 from $152.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Citigroup raised their target price on Phillips 66 from $146.00 to $159.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Phillips 66 from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Phillips 66 from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Phillips 66 from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $164.00.

Phillips 66 Trading Down 1.8%

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $160.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $143.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.30, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market capitalization of $74.07 billion, a PE ratio of 17.08, a PEG ratio of 0.35 and a beta of 0.86.

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.15 by $0.32. Phillips 66 had a return on equity of 9.13% and a net margin of 3.22%.The business had revenue of $32.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.15) earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Phillips 66 will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Phillips 66 Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $1.27 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $5.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from Phillips 66’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. Phillips 66’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Don Baldridge sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $1,200,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 38,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,158,080. This trade represents a 16.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lisa Ann Davis sold 3,800 shares of Phillips 66 stock in a transaction on Friday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.37, for a total transaction of $662,606.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 8,701 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,517,193.37. This trade represents a 30.40% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 84,688 shares of company stock worth $14,066,145 over the last 90 days. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PSX. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Phillips 66 by 11.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,724,558 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $7,035,574,000 after purchasing an additional 5,356,558 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Phillips 66 during the fourth quarter worth about $640,206,000. Elliott Investment Management L.P. grew its stake in Phillips 66 by 22.4% in the second quarter. Elliott Investment Management L.P. now owns 19,251,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,296,644,000 after purchasing an additional 3,526,000 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp grew its stake in Phillips 66 by 462.9% in the fourth quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 2,727,888 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $352,007,000 after purchasing an additional 2,243,268 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Phillips 66 by 424.7% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,893,195 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $257,512,000 after buying an additional 1,532,389 shares during the last quarter. 76.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.