Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) Reaches New 1-Year High - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Phillips 66 shares reached a new 52-week high of $278.26, trading 3.1% higher, supported by a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and several analysts raising price targets.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $9.41 versus the $7.50 consensus estimate and revenue of $51 billion, ahead of expectations.
• Phillips 66 authorized a $10 billion stock-repurchase program, allowing it to buy back up to 11.8% of outstanding shares; institutional investors own 76.93% of the stock.

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday. The company traded as high as $278.26 and last traded at $277.4120, with a volume of 395545 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $271.62.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PSX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial lifted their target price on Phillips 66 from $240.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, September 14th. Zacks Research upgraded Phillips 66 from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 7th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Phillips 66 in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Phillips 66 from $196.00 to $284.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, September 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Phillips 66 from $239.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $252.00.

Phillips 66 Trading Up 3.1%

The company has a market capitalization of $111.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.97 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $245.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $202.00. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas company reported $9.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $7.50 by $1.91. Phillips 66 had a return on equity of 19.93% and a net margin of 4.54%.The business had revenue of $51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.60 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.38 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Phillips 66 will post 29.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Phillips 66 declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Friday, July 31st that allows the company to buyback $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the oil and gas company to purchase up to 11.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Richard Harbison sold 52,100 shares of Phillips 66 stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $223.76, for a total value of $11,657,896.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 39,094 shares in the company, valued at $8,747,673.44. This trade represents a 57.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Brian Mandell sold 23,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.06, for a total transaction of $6,202,404.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 61,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,326,370.70. This represents a 27.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 112,886 shares of company stock worth $25,878,894 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Phillips 66

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PSX. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Phillips 66 during the second quarter worth approximately $384,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Phillips 66 in the second quarter valued at approximately $5,766,779,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in shares of Phillips 66 by 543.7% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 128,156 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $23,348,000 after buying an additional 108,248 shares during the period. Stack Financial Management Inc acquired a new stake in Phillips 66 during the second quarter worth approximately $36,317,000. Finally, West Family Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in Phillips 66 during the second quarter worth approximately $724,000. 76.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Phillips 66 Company Profile

Phillips 66 is an energy manufacturing and logistics company engaged in the processing, transportation, storage and marketing of energy products. Its operations include refining crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, lubricants and other refined products, as well as distributing and marketing fuels under the Phillips 66, 76 and JET brands.

The company also operates midstream infrastructure, including pipelines, terminals, processing facilities and storage assets that support the movement of crude oil, natural gas liquids and refined products.

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