Short Interest in Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX) Decreases By 16.5%

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant drop in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,510,000 shares, a drop of 16.5% from the March 15th total of 7,800,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 3,820,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.7 days. Approximately 1.6% of the company's stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Piper Sandler downgraded shares of Phillips 66 from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Phillips 66 from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $132.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Phillips 66 from $136.00 to $133.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wolfe Research raised Phillips 66 from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $143.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Phillips 66 from $161.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $142.00.

Phillips 66 Stock Performance

Shares of PSX traded up $1.90 on Wednesday, reaching $102.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,055,099 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,901,841. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $116.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $121.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.81, a PEG ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 1.17. Phillips 66 has a 12-month low of $91.01 and a 12-month high of $158.38.

Phillips 66 (NYSE:PSX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 31st. The oil and gas company reported ($0.15) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.23 by ($1.38). Phillips 66 had a net margin of 1.46% and a return on equity of 8.58%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.09 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Phillips 66 will post 6.8 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Phillips 66 Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This is a boost from Phillips 66's previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.67%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 19th. Phillips 66's payout ratio is presently 93.12%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Phillips 66

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PSX. Forum Financial Management LP increased its stake in shares of Phillips 66 by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 7,486 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $853,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Phillips 66 by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 15,199 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $1,732,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. JBR Co Financial Management Inc increased its position in Phillips 66 by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. JBR Co Financial Management Inc now owns 9,520 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $1,085,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC raised its stake in Phillips 66 by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 3,876 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $442,000 after purchasing an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Webster Bank N. A. boosted its holdings in Phillips 66 by 48.4% in the 4th quarter. Webster Bank N. A. now owns 270 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. 76.93% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Phillips 66

Phillips 66 operates as an energy manufacturing and logistics company in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Midstream, Chemicals, Refining, and Marketing and Specialties (M&S). The Midstream segment transports crude oil and other feedstocks; delivers refined petroleum products to market; provides terminaling and storage services for crude oil and refined petroleum products; transports, stores, fractionates, exports, and markets natural gas liquids; provides other fee-based processing services; and gathers, processes, transports, and markets natural gas.