Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) Short Interest Down 33.0% in August

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) saw a large decrease in short interest in the month of August. As of August 14th, there was short interest totaling 4,945,738 shares, a decrease of 33.0% from the July 30th total of 7,381,797 shares. Currently, 1.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 2,839,091 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.7 days.

Phillips 66 Price Performance

NYSE PSX traded up $5.19 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $251.77. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,095,631 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,828,252. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $207.69 and a 200 day moving average of $183.39. Phillips 66 has a one year low of $126.74 and a one year high of $252.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.46 billion, a PE ratio of 14.35, a P/E/G ratio of 0.18 and a beta of 0.68. 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) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas company reported $9.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.50 by $1.91. Phillips 66 had a return on equity of 19.93% and a net margin of 4.54%.The firm had revenue of $52.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $43.60 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.38 EPS. Analysts expect that Phillips 66 will post 23.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Phillips 66 declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Friday, July 31st that authorizes the company to repurchase $10.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to buy up to 11.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Phillips 66 Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th will be given a dividend of $1.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 18th. This represents a $5.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Phillips 66’s payout ratio is presently 28.95%.

Insider Transactions at Phillips 66

In other Phillips 66 news, CFO Kevin J. Mitchell sold 11,021 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.03, for a total transaction of $2,094,320.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 97,376 shares in the company, valued at $18,504,361.28. This trade represents a 10.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Vanessa Allen Sutherland sold 3,523 shares of Phillips 66 stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $211.05, for a total transaction of $743,529.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 27,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,811,683.85. The trade was a 11.34% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders sold 100,507 shares of company stock worth $21,770,810. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Phillips 66

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in shares of Phillips 66 by 238.5% in the fourth 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 grew 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 acquiring an additional 10,089 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Phillips 66 by 28.3% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 157,455 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $18,788,000 after acquiring an additional 34,698 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of Phillips 66 by 9.1% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 346,679 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $41,359,000 after acquiring an additional 28,988 shares during the period. Finally, Glenview Trust co raised its stake in shares of Phillips 66 by 2.6% during the second quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 8,949 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,068,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. 76.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on PSX. Argus increased their target price on Phillips 66 from $185.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Phillips 66 from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 26th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Phillips 66 from $208.00 to $209.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Barclays raised their target price on Phillips 66 from $183.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Phillips 66 from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $211.89.

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.