Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) Short Interest Down 36.6% in May

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX - Get Free Report) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,690,000 shares, a decline of 36.6% from the April 30th total of 13,710,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,590,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days. Approximately 2.1% of the company's shares are short sold.

Phillips 66 Stock Performance

Phillips 66 stock traded up $0.79 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $114.27. 905,609 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,005,519. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $109.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $118.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The company has a market cap of $46.56 billion, a PE ratio of 23.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 1.01. Phillips 66 has a one year low of $91.01 and a one year high of $150.12.

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The oil and gas company reported ($0.90) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.07 by ($0.97). Phillips 66 had a net margin of 1.46% and a return on equity of 8.58%. The business had revenue of $31.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.90 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Phillips 66 will post 6.8 EPS for the current year.

Phillips 66 Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This is a positive change from Phillips 66's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.20%. Phillips 66's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 109.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Phillips 66

In related news, Director Robert W. Pease purchased 439 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $113.85 per share, for a total transaction of $49,980.15. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 4,091 shares in the company, valued at $465,760.35. This trade represents a 12.02% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Phillips 66

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Phillips 66 by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 46,953 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $5,349,000 after purchasing an additional 4,515 shares in the last quarter. Flavin Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Phillips 66 in the 4th quarter worth $1,190,000. Corps Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Phillips 66 in the 4th quarter worth $412,000. Cohen & Steers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Phillips 66 by 40.3% in the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 91,663 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $10,443,000 after acquiring an additional 26,318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Phillips 66 by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. American Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 130,800 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $14,902,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.93% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on PSX shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Phillips 66 from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Scotiabank cut their price target on Phillips 66 from $136.00 to $133.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Phillips 66 from $162.00 to $149.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Phillips 66 from $140.00 to $122.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Tudor Pickering downgraded Phillips 66 from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Phillips 66 presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $135.62.

About Phillips 66

Phillips 66 operates as an energy manufacturing and logistics company in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Midstream, Chemicals, Refining, and Marketing and Specialties (M&S). The Midstream segment transports crude oil and other feedstocks; delivers refined petroleum products to market; provides terminaling and storage services for crude oil and refined petroleum products; transports, stores, fractionates, exports, and markets natural gas liquids; provides other fee-based processing services; and gathers, processes, transports, and markets natural gas.