Par Pacific (NYSE:PARR) Trading Up 7.3% – Time to Buy?

Par Pacific Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PARR) traded up 7.3% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $67.07 and last traded at $67.2040. 539,526 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 60% from the average session volume of 1,349,476 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.61.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Par Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Raymond James Financial raised their price objective on shares of Par Pacific from $50.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Zacks Research raised shares of Par Pacific from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Par Pacific from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Par Pacific from $48.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.00.

Par Pacific Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.61 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.98 and a beta of 0.97. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $56.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $45.68.

Par Pacific (NYSE:PARR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by ($0.04). Par Pacific had a net margin of 4.95% and a return on equity of 30.19%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.79) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Par Pacific Holdings, Inc. will post 14.19 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO William Monteleone sold 108,948 shares of Par Pacific stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.06, for a total value of $5,889,728.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 457,167 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,714,448.02. This trade represents a 19.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 3.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PARR. Kestra Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Par Pacific by 135.2% during the 1st quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,700 shares of the company’s stock valued at $796,000 after purchasing an additional 7,300 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Par Pacific in the 1st quarter valued at $205,000. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in Par Pacific by 206.1% during the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 40,606 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,544,000 after acquiring an additional 27,342 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in Par Pacific by 29.4% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 93,335 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,847,000 after acquiring an additional 21,223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its holdings in Par Pacific by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 7,598 shares of the company’s stock worth $476,000 after acquiring an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. 92.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Par Pacific

Par Pacific Holdings, Inc (NYSE: PARR) is a diversified downstream energy company engaged in the refining, marketing and logistics of petroleum products. Through its subsidiaries, Par Pacific operates the Par Hawaii Refinery on the island of O?ahu, which processes crude oil into transportation fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as asphalt, petroleum coke and sulfur. In the Rocky Mountain region, the company owns and operates the Salt Lake City Refinery in Utah and associated logistics infrastructure, including pipelines and storage terminals, to support both crude supply and product distribution.

In marketing its refined products, Par Pacific maintains a network of branded and unbranded wholesale accounts across Hawaii and the U.S.