Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) Short Interest Update

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 7,123,173 shares, a decrease of 13.4% from the March 15th total of 8,223,644 shares. Currently, 1.8% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 3,900,452 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.8 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PSX has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Phillips 66 from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Phillips 66 from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Phillips 66 from $172.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 2nd. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of Phillips 66 from $175.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Phillips 66 from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $180.72.

Phillips 66 Stock Down 5.0%

Shares of PSX stock traded down $8.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $155.22. 1,385,695 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,062,723. The stock has a market cap of $62.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.28 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $166.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $146.88. Phillips 66 has a 52-week low of $95.70 and a 52-week high of $190.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The oil and gas company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.15 by $0.32. The business had revenue of $32.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $33.81 billion. Phillips 66 had a net margin of 3.22% and a return on equity of 9.13%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.15) earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Phillips 66 will post 6.8 EPS for the current year.

Phillips 66 Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 4th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $1.27 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. This is a positive change from Phillips 66’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.20. This represents a $5.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. Phillips 66’s payout ratio is currently 46.95%.

Insider Transactions at Phillips 66

In other news, EVP Don Baldridge sold 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total value of $1,200,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 38,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,158,080. This represents a 16.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kevin J. Mitchell sold 16,856 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.22, for a total transaction of $2,835,516.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 97,376 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,380,590.72. This trade represents a 14.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 95,923 shares of company stock valued at $16,399,619. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Phillips 66

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Phillips 66 by 238.5% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 10,239 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,166,000 after buying an additional 7,214 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP increased its holdings in Phillips 66 by 40.7% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 34,891 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $4,308,000 after buying an additional 10,089 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Phillips 66 by 28.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 157,455 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $18,788,000 after buying an additional 34,698 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Phillips 66 by 9.1% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 346,679 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $41,359,000 after buying an additional 28,988 shares during the period. Finally, Glenview Trust co increased its holdings in Phillips 66 by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 8,949 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $1,068,000 after buying an additional 229 shares during the period. 76.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Phillips 66 Company Profile

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.