Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Strong-Buy Rating

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on PSX. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $172.00 price target on shares of Phillips 66 in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Barclays set a $158.00 target price on shares of Phillips 66 in a report on Friday, February 20th. Wolfe Research upped their target price on shares of Phillips 66 from $159.00 to $164.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Zacks Research lowered Phillips 66 from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Phillips 66 from $168.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Phillips 66 has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $161.33.

Phillips 66 Price Performance

Phillips 66 stock opened at $172.85 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $151.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $140.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market cap of $69.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 0.86. Phillips 66 has a 12-month low of $91.01 and a 12-month high of $178.38.

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.32. Phillips 66 had a return on equity of 9.13% and a net margin of 3.22%.The firm had revenue of $32.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $33.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.15) EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Phillips 66 will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Phillips 66 Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a $1.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. This is a boost from Phillips 66’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. This represents a $5.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. Phillips 66’s payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Don Baldridge sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $1,200,000.00. Following 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Vanessa Allen Sutherland sold 4,394 shares of Phillips 66 stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $659,100.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 25,799 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,869,850. This represents a 14.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 38,088 shares of company stock worth $6,147,655. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Phillips 66

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Phillips 66 by 238.5% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,239 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,166,000 after purchasing an additional 7,214 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Phillips 66 by 40.7% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 34,891 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,308,000 after buying an additional 10,089 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Phillips 66 by 20.5% in the second quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 5,497 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $656,000 after buying an additional 937 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Phillips 66 by 263.1% during the second quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,547 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $185,000 after acquiring an additional 1,121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Phillips 66 by 12.4% during the second quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 35,343 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,216,000 after acquiring an additional 3,910 shares during the period. 76.93% of the stock is currently 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.