Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) Upgraded at Freedom Broker

Freedom Broker upgraded shares of Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has $258.00 price objective on the oil and gas company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $173.00.

Several other brokerages have also commented on PSX. 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. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Phillips 66 from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 7th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Phillips 66 from $264.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Phillips 66 from $245.00 to $274.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Phillips 66 from $295.00 to $308.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $269.47.

Phillips 66 Trading Up 0.1%

PSX opened at $283.18 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $110.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.04, a P/E/G ratio of 0.15 and a beta of 0.69. Phillips 66 has a 52 week low of $127.16 and a 52 week high of $299.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $266.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $198.51.

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 28th. The oil and gas company reported $14.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $11.73 by $2.35. Phillips 66 had a net margin of 7.27% and a return on equity of 33.12%. The business had revenue of $50.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $44.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.52 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Phillips 66 will post 33.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Phillips 66 Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 17th will be paid a $1.33 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 17th. This represents a $5.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is a boost from Phillips 66’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.27. Phillips 66’s payout ratio is 16.22%.

Phillips 66 announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase 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 buy up to 11.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Brian Mandell sold 23,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 61,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,326,370.70. This trade represents a 27.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Richard Harbison sold 52,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were 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 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 108,800 shares of company stock worth $25,016,566 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Phillips 66

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Phillips 66 by 142.5% in the third quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 97 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. NFSG Corp increased its position in shares of Phillips 66 by 105.6% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Phillips 66 in the 1st quarter worth about $27,000. Compass Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Phillips 66 in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Phillips 66 in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. 76.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.