Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) Reaches New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday. The company traded as high as $292.88 and last traded at $292.5640, with a volume of 2,608,585 shares. The stock had previously closed at $281.47.

Phillips 66 News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts expect robust year-over-year earnings growth when Phillips 66 reports third-quarter results on October 28, increasing optimism that stronger refining margins will translate into a significant profit beat. Earnings Preview: What to Expect From Phillips 66’s Report
• Positive Sentiment: A bullish Seeking Alpha analysis argues that Russian supply disruptions and instability in the Gulf could prolong refined-product scarcity and elevated crack spreads. The analyst rates PSX a Buy and estimates a potential value of $346 per share. Phillips 66: Missing A Premium Valuation
• Positive Sentiment: Phillips 66 is expanding the use of artificial intelligence at its refineries to accelerate troubleshooting, improve maintenance and reduce costs. Reported savings already exceed $1 per barrel, offering a potential structural boost to margins and cash flow. Can AI Drive Refining Efficiency & Profits for Phillips 66?
• Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target to $282 from $216, while JPMorgan lifted its target to $275 from $234. The increases reflect improved earnings expectations, although Barclays retained an Equal Weight rating. JPMorgan Adjusts Price Target on Phillips 66
• Neutral Sentiment: DBS reaffirmed its Hold rating, highlighting that the recent rally has already incorporated much of the expected improvement. DBS Reaffirms Their Hold Rating on Phillips 66
• Negative Sentiment: Union employees at the Bayway refinery overwhelmingly authorized a strike as their contract expiration approaches. A work stoppage could disrupt operations, increase costs and pressure near-term earnings if negotiations fail. Will Phillips 66 Face a Bayway Refinery Strike?
• Negative Sentiment: Some valuation analysis suggests PSX may be overextended after its powerful advance, with strike risks and the possibility of normalized refining margins limiting further upside. Phillips 66 Stock May Be 42% Undervalued As Strike Risks Loom

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PSX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Phillips 66 from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Phillips 66 from $209.00 to $264.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 3rd. Zacks Research upgraded Phillips 66 from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $276.00 target price on shares of Phillips 66 in a research report on Sunday. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Phillips 66 from $216.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $266.25.

Phillips 66 Trading Up 3.9%

The company has a market cap of $116.74 billion, a PE ratio of 16.67 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.32. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $251.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $204.92.

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The oil and gas company reported $9.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.50 by $1.91. The business had revenue of $51 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.60 billion. Phillips 66 had a net margin of 4.54% and a return on equity of 19.93%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.38 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Phillips 66 will post 29.05 EPS for the current year.

Phillips 66 declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, July 31st that authorizes the company to buy back $10.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the oil and gas company to repurchase up to 11.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Share buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Phillips 66

In other Phillips 66 news, EVP Vanessa Sutherland sold 3,523 shares of Phillips 66 stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.05, for a total transaction of $743,529.15. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 27,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,811,683.85. This trade represents a 11.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Brian Mandell sold 30,000 shares of Phillips 66 stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.00, for a total transaction of $6,450,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 61,595 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,242,925. This trade represents a 32.75% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 112,886 shares of company stock worth $25,878,894. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Phillips 66

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. NFSG Corp increased its stake in shares of Phillips 66 by 105.6% in the first quarter. NFSG Corp now owns 146 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Axiom Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Phillips 66 in the first quarter valued at about $27,000. Compass Financial Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Phillips 66 in the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new position in Phillips 66 during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in Phillips 66 during the 2nd quarter worth about $30,000. 76.93% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Phillips 66 Company Profile

Phillips 66 is an energy manufacturing and logistics company engaged in the processing, transportation, storage and marketing of energy products. Its operations include refining crude oil into gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, lubricants and other refined products, as well as distributing and marketing fuels under the Phillips 66, 76 and JET brands.

The company also operates midstream infrastructure, including pipelines, terminals, processing facilities and storage assets that support the movement of crude oil, natural gas liquids and refined products.