Par Pacific (NYSE:PARR) Upgraded by Zacks Research to Strong-Buy Rating

Key Points

• Zacks Research upgraded Par Pacific from hold to strong-buy, adding to a broader wave of bullish analyst sentiment on the stock.
• Other firms have also turned more positive, including Evercore, Raymond James, and Guggenheim, while the overall consensus rating stands at Moderate Buy with a target price of $70.71.
• The stock was up 11.4% to $68.45, near its 52-week high of $70.39; the company recently reported mixed earnings, missing EPS expectations but beating revenue estimates.

Par Pacific (NYSE:PARR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on PARR. Evercore upgraded Par Pacific to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of Par Pacific from $50.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. UBS Group raised their target price on Par Pacific from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Par Pacific in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Guggenheim raised Par Pacific to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $70.71.

Par Pacific Trading Up 11.4%

NYSE:PARR opened at $68.45 on Tuesday. Par Pacific has a 52 week low of $26.83 and a 52 week high of $70.39. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $58.11 and a 200 day moving average of $51.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.64 and a beta of 0.82.

Par Pacific (NYSE:PARR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.00 by ($0.22). Par Pacific had a return on equity of 34.38% and a net margin of 6.02%.The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.78 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($0.94) earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Par Pacific will post 16.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Par Pacific

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Par Pacific by 23.9% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 23,453 shares of the company's stock valued at $334,000 after acquiring an additional 4,525 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Par Pacific by 118.2% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 164,358 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,344,000 after buying an additional 89,023 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Par Pacific by 4.6% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 32,304 shares of the company's stock valued at $461,000 after acquiring an additional 1,427 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in Par Pacific by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 146,241 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,085,000 after acquiring an additional 6,618 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC grew its position in Par Pacific by 352.7% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 270,835 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,862,000 after acquiring an additional 211,002 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.15% of the company's stock.

Par Pacific Company Profile

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 Oʻahu, 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.

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