Par Pacific (NYSE:PARR) Stock Falls 6.2% – Here’s Why

Par Pacific Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PARR)’s stock price fell 6.2% on Thursday. The stock traded as low as $83.12 and last traded at $83.1450. 575,253 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 50% from the average daily volume of 1,151,344 shares. The stock had previously closed at $88.67.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on PARR. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Par Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $90.00 to $94.00 in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James Financial lifted their price target on shares of Par Pacific from $90.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, September 14th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Par Pacific from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Mizuho set a $91.00 price objective on shares of Par Pacific and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Par Pacific from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.43.

Par Pacific Trading Down 0.1%

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $81.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.19 billion, a PE ratio of 4.88 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 0.76.

Par Pacific (NYSE:PARR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $10.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.22 by $1.88. Par Pacific had a net margin of 9.94% and a return on equity of 56.19%. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.40 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.54 EPS. Par Pacific’s revenue for the quarter was up 56.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Par Pacific Holdings, Inc. will post 26.30 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Danielle Mattiussi sold 3,278 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.29, for a total transaction of $220,576.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 27,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,875,910.62. This represents a 10.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Timothy Clossey sold 10,970 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.00, for a total value of $921,480.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 51,526 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,328,184. This represents a 17.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 54,248 shares of company stock valued at $4,394,057. Insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Par Pacific

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PARR. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its holdings in shares of Par Pacific by 0.3% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,771,793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $110,985,000 after purchasing an additional 6,162 shares during the period. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Par Pacific during the first quarter worth $28,839,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Par Pacific during the second quarter worth $19,353,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Par Pacific by 24.4% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 313,605 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,644,000 after purchasing an additional 61,464 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Par Pacific in the 1st quarter valued at $16,277,000. 92.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Par Pacific

Par Pacific Holdings, Inc is an energy company engaged in refining, marketing and distributing transportation fuels and other petroleum products. Through its refining operations, the company produces gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, asphalt and other refined products for commercial, industrial and retail customers.

Par Pacific operates refineries and related energy infrastructure in the western United States, with a significant presence in Hawaii and additional refining and logistics operations in the Pacific Northwest and Rocky Mountain regions.