So what is the consensus these days? As someone who is looking to get into playing Udyr which of these two DPS stances should be my focus?

Phoenix is generally more tank oriented, since phoenix can put out great AoE damage without many offensive items (Wriggles+late game Trinity is more than sufficient) and allows you to focus almost entirely on defence.

Tiger allows for a lot of single-target burst, making Udyr into more of an anticarry role and is more damage-item dependent.

Depends what your team needs. I tend to prefer tiger stance because it has alot more burst, and it is more flexible in its damage. You can tiger DoT your target, then immediately switch to bear or turtle. Pheonix requires you to chain three hits for optimal damage output. Tiger also pushes turrets like a boss. I have won many fights because I've taken a tower while getting poked through a tiger/turtle rotation.

i use phoenix because i play a tank udyr. throughout the teamfight i'lll just be spamming turtle and bear anyway.

I've seen both used successfully on numerous High Elo streams. Vman7, in his Q&A thread, also said that good players play both styles.

Phoenix:
-Faster initial jungling
-More farm
-More AoE DPS
-Better pushing
-Better against squishy teams

Tiger:
-Faster dragon/barons
-More wriggle synergy
-More single-target DPS
-Better tower killing and ganking
-Better lategame, and against tankier teams

Lategame, when everyone has their BVeils and Merc Treads, Phoenix AoE will do nothing unless you're packin' some serious heat. Tiger, on the other hand, will do noticeable damage, especially if you picked up a Bloodthirster (AFTER your tanky items, ofc. Don't be a scrub).