Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Buys Shares of 4,115 Phillips 66 $PSX

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group initiated a Phillips 66 position by purchasing 4,115 shares valued at approximately $696,000. Institutional investors collectively own 76.93% of PSX, with BlackRock also acquiring a major stake during the second quarter.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: Phillips 66 has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $206.56, while several firms recently raised their targets. The company also reported quarterly EPS of $9.41, beating estimates of $7.50.
• Phillips 66 declared a quarterly dividend of $1.27 per share and authorized a $10 billion share repurchase program, allowing it to buy back up to 11.8% of outstanding shares.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,115 shares of the oil and gas company's stock, valued at approximately $696,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PSX. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Phillips 66 during the second quarter worth $5,766,779,000. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Phillips 66 by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,589,550 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $3,043,996,000 after buying an additional 175,616 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Phillips 66 by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,413,824 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,338,596,000 after buying an additional 45,340 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Phillips 66 during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,093,206,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Phillips 66 during the 4th quarter worth about $640,206,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.93% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on PSX. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of Phillips 66 from $218.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Argus lifted 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. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Phillips 66 from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Phillips 66 from $201.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Phillips 66 from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $206.56.

Insider Buying and Selling at Phillips 66

In related news, CFO Kevin J. Mitchell sold 11,021 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 97,376 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,504,361.28. This represents a 10.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Vanessa Allen Sutherland sold 3,523 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.05, for a total value of $743,529.15. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 27,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,811,683.85. This represents a 11.34% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders sold a total of 100,507 shares of company stock valued at $21,770,810 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Phillips 66 Stock Up 1.2%

PSX opened at $246.86 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $207.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $183.39. The company has a market cap of $98.50 billion, a PE ratio of 14.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.18 and a beta of 0.68. Phillips 66 has a 1 year low of $126.74 and a 1 year high of $250.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.32.

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas company reported $9.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $7.50 by $1.91. Phillips 66 had a net margin of 4.54% and a return on equity of 19.93%. The firm had revenue of $52.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $43.60 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.38 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Phillips 66 will post 23.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Phillips 66 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $1.27 per share. This represents a $5.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 18th. Phillips 66's dividend payout ratio is 28.95%.

Phillips 66 declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Friday, July 31st that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to reacquire up to 11.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.

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