Sasol (NYSE:SSL) Shares Gap Up - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• Sasol shares gapped higher, opening at $13.08 versus a prior close of $12.27, and last traded near $13.10.
• Analyst sentiment has improved, with recent upgrades from several firms, but the overall consensus remains “Hold”: one Buy, five Holds and one Sell.
• Sasol reported quarterly EPS of $0.56 on $4.61 billion in revenue, while institutional ownership remains limited at 1.21%, despite increased positions from several investors.

Sasol Ltd. (NYSE:SSL - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $12.27, but opened at $13.08. Sasol shares last traded at $13.0950, with a volume of 152,253 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on SSL shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sasol from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Sasol from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 31st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Sasol from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. UBS Group raised Sasol from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Investec initiated coverage on Sasol in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. They issued a "sell" rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold".

Sasol Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The business's 50 day moving average price is $11.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $11.70.

Sasol (NYSE:SSL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. On average, analysts expect that Sasol Ltd. will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Corient Private Wealth LP grew its position in Sasol by 42.3% during the 2nd quarter. Corient Private Wealth LP now owns 48,279 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $474,000 after acquiring an additional 14,355 shares during the last quarter. NINE MASTS CAPITAL Ltd bought a new position in Sasol in the second quarter valued at about $196,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in Sasol in the second quarter valued at about $1,084,000. Ramsey Quantitative Systems bought a new position in Sasol in the second quarter valued at about $68,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Sasol by 123.3% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,381,209 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $13,563,000 after purchasing an additional 762,796 shares in the last quarter. 1.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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