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

Shares of Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $218.72 and last traded at $218.5290, with a volume of 156194 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $215.52.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Phillips 66 from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Phillips 66 from $140.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Phillips 66 from $195.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Phillips 66 from $201.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Argus increased 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $206.56.

Phillips 66 Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a market capitalization of $88.41 billion, a PE ratio of 12.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.16 and a beta of 0.68. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $189.09 and its 200 day simple moving average is $173.74.

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas company reported $9.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.50 by $1.91. The business had revenue of $52.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.60 billion. Phillips 66 had a net margin of 4.54% and a return on equity of 19.93%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.38 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Phillips 66 will post 23.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Phillips 66 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $5.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 18th. Phillips 66’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.95%.

Phillips 66 announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Friday, July 31st that permits the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the oil and gas company to purchase up to 11.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Vanessa Allen Sutherland sold 3,523 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.05, for a total transaction of $743,529.15. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 27,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,811,683.85. This represents a 11.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CFO Kevin J. Mitchell sold 11,021 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.03, for a total value of $2,094,320.63. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 97,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,504,361.28. The trade was a 10.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 15,107 shares of company stock valued at $2,956,648. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Phillips 66

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Key Client Fiduciary Advisors LLC increased its stake in 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 worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Threadgill Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Phillips 66 by 3.5% in the second quarter. Threadgill Financial LLC now owns 1,693 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $286,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Phillips 66 by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,084 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $521,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Somerset Trust Co increased its stake in Phillips 66 by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 21,301 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,601,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Clifford Group LLC lifted its holdings in Phillips 66 by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Clifford Group LLC now owns 3,315 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $428,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. 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.