Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) Stock Gets Price Target Boost from Morgan Stanley

Key Points

• Morgan Stanley raised Phillips 66’s price target from $284 to $290 while maintaining an “overweight” rating, implying approximately 4.65% upside from the reported share price.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with Phillips 66 holding a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $269.82; TD Cowen set the highest cited target at $308.
• Phillips 66 reported quarterly earnings of $14.08 per share, beating estimates of $11.73, and authorized a $10 billion stock-repurchase program covering up to 11.8% of outstanding shares.

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $284.00 to $290.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the oil and gas company's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective indicates a potential upside of 4.65% from the company's current price.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on PSX. Citigroup raised their price target on Phillips 66 from $217.00 to $297.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Phillips 66 from $295.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 22nd. 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. Zacks Research raised shares of Phillips 66 from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, September 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Phillips 66 from $264.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $269.82.

Phillips 66 Stock Performance

Shares of Phillips 66 stock traded down $5.71 on Monday, reaching $277.12. 1,491,479 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,830,174. The company has a 50 day moving average of $266.19 and a 200 day moving average of $198.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.34 and a quick ratio of 1.04. Phillips 66 has a 52 week low of $127.16 and a 52 week high of $299.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $108.10 billion, a PE ratio of 8.86, a PEG ratio of 0.15 and a beta of 0.69.

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The oil and gas company reported $14.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $11.73 by $2.35. Phillips 66 had a net margin of 7.27% and a return on equity of 33.12%. The firm had revenue of $50.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.52 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Phillips 66 will post 33.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Phillips 66 declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Friday, July 31st that authorizes the company to buy back $10 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to buy up to 11.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Richard G. Harbison sold 52,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.76, for a total transaction of $11,657,896.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,094 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,747,673.44. This represents a 57.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Brian Mandell sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.00, for a total transaction of $6,450,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 61,595 shares in the company, valued at $13,242,925. This represents a 32.75% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 108,800 shares of company stock worth $25,016,566 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Phillips 66

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PSX. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Phillips 66 in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $5,766,779,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in Phillips 66 in the second quarter worth $1,093,206,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Phillips 66 in the second quarter worth $469,970,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Phillips 66 in the second quarter worth $303,648,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in Phillips 66 in the second quarter valued at $271,128,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.93% of the company's stock.

About Phillips 66

Phillips 66 NYSE: PSX is an energy manufacturing and logistics company headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company was established in 2012 following the separation of ConocoPhillips' downstream and midstream businesses.

Phillips 66 operates across midstream, chemicals, refining and marketing. Its midstream activities include gathering, processing, transporting and storing crude oil, natural gas and natural gas liquids. Through its refining operations, the company converts crude oil and other feedstocks into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, lubricants and other refined petroleum products.

The company markets fuel and related products under the Phillips 66, 76 and Conoco brands, serving retail, commercial, aviation and industrial customers.

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