Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) Upgraded at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Phillips 66 was upgraded to a "strong-buy" rating by Wells Fargo & Company as of Thursday, reflecting increasing investor confidence in the company's performance.
• The company recently reported earnings of $2.38 per share, exceeding analysts' estimates of $1.79, indicating robust financial health and a revenue of $33.77 billion for the quarter.
• A significant increase in institutional investment was noted, with Elliott Investment Management raising its stake by 1,929% in the first quarter, highlighting growing institutional interest in Phillips 66.

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Bank of America downgraded Phillips 66 from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the company from $144.00 to $147.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on Phillips 66 in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Barclays raised their price target on Phillips 66 from $127.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $115.00 price objective on Phillips 66 in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Phillips 66 from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $141.50.

Phillips 66 Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE:PSX opened at $129.21 on Thursday. Phillips 66 has a twelve month low of $91.01 and a twelve month high of $142.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $130.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $120.81. The company has a market cap of $52.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.11.

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The oil and gas company reported $2.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.79 by $0.59. Phillips 66 had a return on equity of 4.87% and a net margin of 1.27%.The firm had revenue of $33.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $32.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.31 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Phillips 66 will post 6.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Vanessa Allen Sutherland sold 4,393 shares of Phillips 66 stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.00, for a total value of $615,020.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 34,587 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,842,180. The trade was a 11.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael A. Heim acquired 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 30th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $125.97 per share, for a total transaction of $125,970.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 12,043 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,517,056.71. This trade represents a 9.06% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased 9,850 shares of company stock valued at $1,188,910 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.22% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Phillips 66

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PSX. Elliott Investment Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Phillips 66 by 1,929.0% in the first quarter. Elliott Investment Management L.P. now owns 15,725,000 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,941,723,000 after acquiring an additional 14,950,000 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Phillips 66 by 14.8% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 46,368,000 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $5,531,702,000 after purchasing an additional 5,978,841 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Phillips 66 in the second quarter worth approximately $523,755,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Phillips 66 by 17.4% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,327,304 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,226,815,000 after purchasing an additional 1,532,967 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Phillips 66 by 9,530.9% in the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,446,469 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $172,564,000 after purchasing an additional 1,431,450 shares in the last quarter. 76.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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