Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) Trading Up 5.6% – Still a Buy?

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX)’s share price shot up 5.6% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $187.89 and last traded at $188.8250. Approximately 614,078 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 78% from the average session volume of 2,844,972 shares. The stock had previously closed at $178.84.

Key Phillips 66 News

Here are the key news stories impacting Phillips 66 this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Phillips 66 benefited from a stronger refining backdrop, as tighter U.S. gasoline inventories and improving product margins can boost crack spreads and near-term earnings for refiners. Phillips 66 Gains as Strong Fuel-Margin Backdrop Lifts Refiners
• Positive Sentiment: The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.27 per share, reinforcing its appeal to income investors and signaling continued cash generation. Phillips 66 Announces Quarterly Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target on Phillips 66 to $183 from $177, suggesting analysts still see meaningful value in the stock even after the recent rally. Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) Given New $183.00 Price Target at Barclays
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary has also described PSX as a momentum stock and potentially modestly undervalued, which may support sentiment but does not change the company’s fundamentals directly. Phillips 66 (PSX) Could Be 3% Undervalued After Oil Spiked On Middle East Tensions
• Negative Sentiment: Higher crude prices tied to renewed Middle East tensions could pressure Phillips 66’s input costs in the near term, especially if refining margins do not widen enough to offset the move. Phillips 66 (PSX) Stock Faces Higher Crude Costs After U.S. Strikes On Iran

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wolfe Research raised their target price on Phillips 66 from $187.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Phillips 66 from $159.00 to $183.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Phillips 66 from $163.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Mizuho upgraded shares of Phillips 66 from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $170.00 to $212.00 in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Phillips 66 from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Phillips 66 currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $193.94.

Phillips 66 Stock Down 1.5%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.13. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $176.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $162.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.25 and a beta of 0.69.

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The oil and gas company reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.54) by $1.03. The firm had revenue of $32.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $35.86 billion. Phillips 66 had a return on equity of 10.98% and a net margin of 2.99%.The company’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.90) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Phillips 66 will post 19.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Phillips 66 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be issued a dividend of $1.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $5.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Phillips 66’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Phillips 66 news, Director Kevin Omar Meyers acquired 175 shares of Phillips 66 stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $173.12 per share, for a total transaction of $30,296.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 16,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,908,242.88. This represents a 1.05% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Kevin J. Mitchell sold 29,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 8th. The shares were 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 $16,553,920. The trade was a 23.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Phillips 66

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PSX. City Holding Co. raised its holdings in shares of Phillips 66 by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 19,351 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,271,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Trust Co lifted its holdings in Phillips 66 by 14.8% during the 2nd quarter. Charles Schwab Trust Co now owns 1,354 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Spinnaker Investment Group LLC bought a new position in Phillips 66 during the second quarter worth $344,000. Financial Management Professionals Inc. grew its stake in Phillips 66 by 20.3% in the 2nd quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 920 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $156,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Phillips 66 by 3.5% in the second quarter. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 1,624 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 76.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Phillips 66 Company Profile

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.