Sasol (NYSE:SSL) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Sasol Ltd. (NYSE:SSL) shares gapped up prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $11.32, but opened at $12.04. Sasol shares last traded at $12.3270, with a volume of 223,169 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SSL. UBS Group upgraded Sasol from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Sasol from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Investec assumed coverage on Sasol in a research report on Wednesday, June 17th. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. Zacks Research lowered Sasol from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Sasol in a report on Monday, June 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

Sasol Stock Up 7.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.66. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $11.72 and its 200 day moving average is $10.62.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Sarushen Dhanapalan Pillay sold 2,182 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $13.14, for a total transaction of $28,671.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 16,313 shares in the company, valued at $214,352.82. This represents a 11.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Sasol during the fourth quarter valued at about $35,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Sasol by 232.5% in the 4th quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 5,606 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 3,920 shares during the period. Ramsey Quantitative Systems acquired a new position in shares of Sasol in the 2nd quarter valued at about $68,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sasol by 347.3% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,960 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 6,957 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Sasol by 48.9% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,115 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $118,000 after purchasing an additional 2,992 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.21% of the company’s stock.

Sasol Company Profile

Sasol Limited is an integrated energy and chemical company headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa. The company’s core operations encompass the conversion of natural gas, coal and heavy hydrocarbons into liquid fuels and a wide array of chemical products. Sasol leverages proprietary Fischer-Tropsch and gas-to-liquids (GTL) technologies to deliver cleaner-burning diesel, jet fuel and naphtha, alongside solvents, surfactants and specialty polymers for industrial and consumer applications.

In addition to its GTL business, Sasol operates downstream facilities for the manufacture of alpha olefins, ethylene, propylene and other base-chemical intermediates.