Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Zacks Research

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued on Monday, Zacks reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Phillips 66 from $240.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Phillips 66 from $235.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Guggenheim raised shares of Phillips 66 to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Phillips 66 from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Phillips 66 from $239.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Phillips 66 presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $222.76.

Phillips 66 Trading Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE PSX opened at $259.43 on Monday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $217.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $187.47. Phillips 66 has a 52-week low of $126.74 and a 52-week high of $261.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $103.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.78, a PEG ratio of 0.19 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas company reported $9.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.50 by $1.91. Phillips 66 had a return on equity of 19.93% and a net margin of 4.54%.The company had revenue of $52.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.38 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Phillips 66 will post 24.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Phillips 66 declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Friday, July 31st that permits the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas company to buy up to 11.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Brian Mandell sold 30,000 shares of Phillips 66 stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.00, for a total value of $6,450,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 61,595 shares in the company, valued at $13,242,925. This trade represents a 32.75% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kevin J. Mitchell sold 11,021 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.03, for a total transaction of $2,094,320.63. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 97,376 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,504,361.28. The trade was a 10.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 100,507 shares of company stock worth $21,770,810 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Phillips 66

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised 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 valued at $1,166,000 after acquiring an additional 7,214 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP grew its stake 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 worth $4,308,000 after purchasing an additional 10,089 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Phillips 66 by 28.3% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 157,455 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $18,788,000 after purchasing an additional 34,698 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in shares of Phillips 66 by 9.1% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 346,679 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $41,359,000 after purchasing an additional 28,988 shares during the period. Finally, Glenview Trust co increased its holdings in shares of Phillips 66 by 2.6% during the second quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 8,949 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,068,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.93% of the company's stock.

Phillips 66 Company Profile

Phillips 66 NYSE: PSX is an energy company that operates across the midstream, chemicals, refining and marketing sectors. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, the company was established in 2012 when ConocoPhillips separated its downstream businesses into an independent company.

The company's midstream operations include transportation, processing, storage and other infrastructure for crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Phillips 66 also owns and operates refineries that process crude oil into transportation fuels, lubricants, specialty products and other refined petroleum products.

Phillips 66 markets gasoline, diesel and other fuels under the Phillips 66, Conoco and 76 brands, primarily in the United States.

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