Sasol (NYSE:SSL) Shares Up 5.5% – Still a Buy?

Sasol Ltd. (NYSE:SSL)’s stock price was up 5.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $10.64 and last traded at $10.6050. Approximately 3,023,537 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 33% from the average daily volume of 2,280,008 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.05.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on SSL shares. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Sasol in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research raised shares of Sasol from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Sasol from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 28th. UBS Group lowered Sasol from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Sasol from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Sasol Trading Up 6.0%

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $7.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $6.85. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sasol by 75.7% in the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,450,355 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,135,000 after acquiring an additional 624,911 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Sasol by 31.9% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 154,700 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $654,000 after purchasing an additional 37,412 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sasol in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Savant Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sasol in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $160,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in Sasol by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 767,312 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,392,000 after purchasing an additional 81,769 shares in the last quarter. 1.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Sasol

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.