Sasol Ltd. (NYSE:SSL) Stock Now Rated "Hold" by Wall Street Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts collectively rate Sasol “Hold”: Of seven firms covering the stock, one recommends selling, three holding, two buying, and one a strong buy; several analysts recently upgraded their ratings.
• Company executives have been selling shares: Insiders sold 60,412 shares worth about $801,000 over the last quarter, including two executive vice presidents who sold shares on September 8.
• Sasol reported quarterly earnings of $0.56 per share on revenue of $4.61 billion; analysts forecast full-year EPS of $2.99.

Shares of Sasol Ltd. (NYSE:SSL - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the seven ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sasol from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Sasol from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Bank of America raised Sasol from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Sasol from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Victor Bester sold 2,852 shares of Sasol stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.70, for a total transaction of $36,220.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 26,855 shares of the company's stock, valued at $341,058.50. This trade represents a 9.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Sandile Lawrence Siyaya sold 2,842 shares of Sasol stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.70, for a total value of $36,093.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 301 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,822.70. This trade represents a 90.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 60,412 shares of company stock worth $800,983. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sasol

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SSL. Private Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in Sasol during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $334,000. Ieq Capital LLC grew its stake in Sasol by 27.5% in the third quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 29,957 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $414,000 after acquiring an additional 6,468 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sasol by 36.3% during the third quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 9,246 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $128,000 after acquiring an additional 2,461 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of Sasol by 72.0% during the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 165,029 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,281,000 after acquiring an additional 69,090 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D Orazio & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Sasol by 39.0% during the third quarter. D Orazio & Associates Inc. now owns 16,014 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $221,000 after acquiring an additional 4,496 shares in the last quarter. 1.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Sasol Stock Performance

Shares of Sasol stock opened at $14.09 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $14.91 and a 200-day moving average of $12.14. Sasol has a 52-week low of $5.97 and a 52-week high of $18.19.

Sasol (NYSE:SSL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The oil and gas company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $4.61 billion for the quarter. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Sasol will post 2.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Sasol Company Profile

Sasol is an integrated energy and chemicals company headquartered in South Africa. Founded in 1950, it developed expertise in converting coal and natural gas into liquid fuels and chemical products, including through Fischer-Tropsch technology. The company produces and markets fuels, such as gasoline, diesel and aviation fuel, as well as a broad range of chemicals used in industries including manufacturing, agriculture and consumer goods. Its activities span energy and chemicals value chains, from feedstock processing to product marketing.

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