Zacks Research Downgrades Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) to Hold

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Phillips 66 from a “strong-buy” to a “hold,” adding to a mixed analyst view of the stock.
• Despite the downgrade, broader analyst sentiment remains fairly constructive: the stock still has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $192.72.
• Phillips 66 recently reported better-than-expected earnings of $0.49 per share, though revenue of $32.54 billion came in below analysts’ expectations.

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on PSX. Citigroup boosted their target price on Phillips 66 from $159.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Phillips 66 from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Phillips 66 from $163.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Phillips 66 from $173.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Phillips 66 from $180.00 to $196.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $192.72.

Phillips 66 Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PSX opened at $178.83 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $175.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $161.94. Phillips 66 has a 1-year low of $118.07 and a 1-year high of $190.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a market cap of $71.70 billion, a PE ratio of 17.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.24 and a beta of 0.69.

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The oil and gas company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.54) by $1.03. Phillips 66 had a net margin of 2.99% and a return on equity of 10.98%. The company had revenue of $32.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $35.86 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($0.90) EPS. The business's revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Phillips 66 will post 19.27 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Phillips 66

In other news, CFO Kevin J. Mitchell sold 600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.56, for a total value of $102,936.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 97,376 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,705,826.56. The trade was a 0.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kevin Omar Meyers bought 175 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $173.12 per share, for a total transaction of $30,296.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 16,799 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,908,242.88. The trade was a 1.05% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.40% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Phillips 66

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PSX. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Phillips 66 by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,930,038 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $6,701,052,000 after purchasing an additional 205,480 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Phillips 66 by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,589,550 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $3,043,996,000 after buying an additional 175,616 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Phillips 66 by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,413,824 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,338,596,000 after buying an additional 45,340 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Phillips 66 in the fourth quarter valued at $640,206,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Phillips 66 by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,944,561 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $509,006,000 after acquiring an additional 89,621 shares during the period. 76.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Phillips 66

Phillips 66 NYSE: PSX is an independent energy manufacturing and logistics company engaged primarily in refining, midstream transportation, marketing and chemicals. The company processes crude oil into transportation fuels, lubricants and other petroleum products, operates pipeline and storage infrastructure, and participates in petrochemical production through strategic investments. Phillips 66 serves commercial, industrial and retail customers and positions its operations across the value chain of the downstream energy sector.

The company's principal activities include refining crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and feedstocks for petrochemical production; operating midstream assets such as pipelines, terminals and fractionators that move and store crude oil and natural gas liquids; and marketing and distributing fuels and lubricants through wholesale and retail channels.

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