Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) Stock Price Down 1.2% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• Phillips 66 shares fell 1.2% to about $271.86, despite trading volume slightly above its daily average.
• The company beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, raised its quarterly dividend to $1.33 per share, and has authorization for up to $10 billion in share repurchases.
• Analyst sentiment is generally positive, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and a $269.82 average price target; recent calls cite refining momentum and a higher Morgan Stanley target, while some firms maintain neutral ratings.

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX - Get Free Report) shares were down 1.2% during trading on Tuesday. The company traded as low as $271.46 and last traded at $271.8630. Approximately 2,888,191 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 2% from the average daily volume of 2,838,521 shares. The stock had previously closed at $275.04.

Key Phillips 66 News

Here are the key news stories impacting Phillips 66 this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley is bullish: The firm raised its price target to $290 from $284 and reiterated an “overweight” rating; a separate report also says Morgan Stanley issued a buy rating. These calls may support investor confidence. Morgan Stanley price target report Morgan Stanley buy rating
• Positive Sentiment: Refining momentum is a favorable theme: Zacks highlighted Phillips 66 alongside other refiners, citing strong quarterly earnings, favorable refining conditions and improving growth prospects after a choppy October. Zacks energy stocks article
• Positive Sentiment: SAF feedstock partnership: Phillips 66 and Restaurant Technologies have a long-term agreement to supply used cooking oil from U.S. restaurants for renewable fuel production in California. It could strengthen feedstock supply and the company’s position in lower-carbon fuels, though the article gives no near-term earnings estimate. SAF partnership article
• Positive Sentiment: Technical signal turned favorable: Zacks reported PSX crossed above its 20-day moving average after reaching a support level, suggesting improving short-term momentum. Zacks technical analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: Freedom Broker upgraded PSX from “sell” to “hold,” raising its target to $258 from $173. The improved rating is a positive change, but the new target is below the quoted share price, tempering the signal. Freedom Broker rating information

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on PSX shares. Mizuho lowered Phillips 66 from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $220.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Phillips 66 from $264.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Phillips 66 from $235.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 8th. Weiss Ratings raised Phillips 66 from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b+)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $335.00 target price on shares of Phillips 66 in a research report on Monday, October 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $269.82.

Phillips 66 Stock Down 1.2%

The stock has a market capitalization of $106.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.68, a PEG ratio of 0.16 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $266.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $199.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The oil and gas company reported $14.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $11.73 by $2.35. The company had revenue of $50.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.91 billion. Phillips 66 had a return on equity of 34.36% and a net margin of 7.27%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.52 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Phillips 66 will post 33.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Phillips 66 Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 17th will be paid a $1.33 dividend. This is an increase from Phillips 66's previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 17th. This represents a $5.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Phillips 66's payout ratio is presently 16.99%.

Phillips 66 announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, July 31st that authorizes the company to repurchase $10 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to purchase up to 11.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Phillips 66

In other news, EVP Brian Mandell sold 23,400 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.06, for a total value of $6,202,404.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 61,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,326,370.70. This trade represents a 27.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Richard G. Harbison sold 52,100 shares of Phillips 66 stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.76, for a total transaction of $11,657,896.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 39,094 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,747,673.44. The trade was a 57.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 108,800 shares of company stock valued at $25,016,566 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Phillips 66

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Phillips 66 during the second quarter valued at about $5,766,779,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Phillips 66 by 1.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,044,694 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $4,402,856,000 after purchasing an additional 271,841 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Phillips 66 in the second quarter worth about $1,093,206,000. Amundi increased its holdings in Phillips 66 by 62.0% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 3,667,451 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $668,137,000 after purchasing an additional 1,403,493 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in Phillips 66 by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,971,036 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $541,263,000 after purchasing an additional 35,167 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.93% of the company's stock.

Phillips 66 Company Profile

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.

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