Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) Reaches New 1-Year High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Phillips 66 reached a new 52-week high of $299.39, with shares last trading near $290.62. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, though the average price target of $269.06 is below the current price; Raymond James set a higher $335 target.
• The company reported quarterly earnings of $9.41 per share, well above the $7.50 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $51 billion versus expectations of $43.60 billion.
• Phillips 66 raised its quarterly dividend to $1.33 per share, or $5.32 annually, and authorized a $10 billion share-repurchase program. However, insiders sold approximately $25 million of stock over the past three months.

Shares of Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday. The company traded as high as $299.39 and last traded at $290.6160, with a volume of 1,885,450 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $293.17.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on PSX. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Phillips 66 from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 7th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Phillips 66 from $209.00 to $264.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, September 3rd. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Phillips 66 from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Phillips 66 from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 26th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $335.00 target price on shares of Phillips 66 in a report on Monday. Two investment 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 company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $269.06.

Phillips 66 Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $115.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.69 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $258.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $207.96.

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas company reported $9.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.50 by $1.91. The business had revenue of $51 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $43.60 billion. Phillips 66 had a return on equity of 19.93% and a net margin of 4.54%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.38 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Phillips 66 will post 29.70 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Phillips 66 Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 17th will be given a dividend of $1.33 per share. This represents a $5.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 17th. This is a positive change from Phillips 66's previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. Phillips 66's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.95%.

Phillips 66 declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Friday, July 31st that permits the company to buy back $10.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the oil and gas company to purchase up to 11.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Richard G. Harbison sold 52,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 39,094 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,747,673.44. The trade was a 57.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Brian Mandell sold 23,400 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.06, for a total transaction of $6,202,404.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 61,595 shares in the company, valued at $16,326,370.70. This trade represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 108,800 shares of company stock valued at $25,016,566 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Phillips 66

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. NFSG Corp increased its position in shares of Phillips 66 by 105.6% in the first quarter. NFSG Corp now owns 146 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Axiom Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Phillips 66 in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Compass Financial Management LLC bought a new stake in Phillips 66 during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new stake in Phillips 66 during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in Phillips 66 during the second quarter worth about $30,000. 76.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.