Par Pacific (NYSE:PARR) Hits New 1-Year High - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Par Pacific shares reached a new 52-week high of $90.17 and were last up 8.1% at about $89.89, giving the company a market capitalization of roughly $4.5 billion.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $85.14; Raymond James raised its target to $104 while other firms maintained or adjusted their ratings.
• The company reported strong quarterly results, including EPS of $10.10 versus an $8.22 estimate and revenue growth of 56.8% year over year. However, insiders sold about $4.4 million of stock during the last quarter, while institutional investors own 92.15% of shares.

Par Pacific Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PARR - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $90.17 and last traded at $89.8890, with a volume of 1,150,429 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $83.12.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PARR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of Par Pacific from $90.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, September 14th. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Par Pacific in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Par Pacific from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Par Pacific from $100.00 to $95.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Par Pacific from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, September 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $85.14.

Par Pacific Trading Up 8.1%

The business's 50 day moving average price is $80.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.84, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market capitalization of $4.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.24 and a beta of 0.75.

Par Pacific (NYSE:PARR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The company reported $10.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.22 by $1.88. The company had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.40 billion. Par Pacific had a net margin of 9.94% and a return on equity of 56.19%. The firm's revenue was up 56.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.54 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Par Pacific Holdings, Inc. will post 26.30 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Par Pacific

In other Par Pacific news, Director Timothy Clossey sold 10,970 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.00, for a total value of $921,480.00. Following the sale, the director owned 51,526 shares in the company, valued at $4,328,184. This trade represents a 17.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO William Monteleone sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.30, for a total transaction of $3,252,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 457,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,167,677.10. The trade was a 8.05% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 54,248 shares of company stock worth $4,394,057 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Encompass Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Par Pacific during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,839,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Par Pacific in the 2nd quarter valued at $19,353,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Par Pacific in the 1st quarter valued at $16,277,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Par Pacific by 395.9% in the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 133,073 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,336,000 after acquiring an additional 106,238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in shares of Par Pacific by 24.4% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 313,605 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,644,000 after acquiring an additional 61,464 shares in the last quarter. 92.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Par Pacific Company Profile

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.

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