Sasol (NYSE:SSL) Hits New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Sasol shares reached a new 52-week high of $14.47 after Bank of America upgraded the stock from “neutral” to “buy.” The shares last traded at $14.3650, up from a prior close of $13.30.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed overall: two analysts rate Sasol a “buy,” five recommend “hold,” and one rates it “sell,” giving the stock an average “Hold” rating.
• Several institutional investors increased their positions, including Millennium Management, Jane Street and JPMorgan Chase, though institutions collectively own only 1.21% of Sasol. The company reported quarterly EPS of $0.56 on revenue of $4.61 billion.

Sasol Ltd. (NYSE:SSL - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday after Bank of America upgraded the stock from a neutral rating to a buy rating. The stock traded as high as $14.47 and last traded at $14.3650, with a volume of 604591 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $13.30.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group raised shares of Sasol from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Sasol in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sasol from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Investec initiated coverage on Sasol in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. They set a "sell" rating for the company. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Sasol from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Sasol has an average rating of "Hold".

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sasol

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SSL. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in Sasol by 75.7% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,450,355 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $6,135,000 after buying an additional 624,911 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Sasol by 31.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 37,412 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Sasol during the 2nd quarter valued at about $52,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Sasol by 7,082.0% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 59,395 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $263,000 after acquiring an additional 58,568 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Sasol by 347.3% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,960 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 6,957 shares during the last quarter. 1.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sasol Stock Performance

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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $11.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $11.74.

Sasol (NYSE:SSL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The oil and gas company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $4.61 billion during the quarter. As a group, equities analysts expect that Sasol Ltd. will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.

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