Sasol Ltd. (NYSE:SSL) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Reduce" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Six analysts give Sasol an average rating of Reduce (two sell, four hold), with recent downgrades from Goldman Sachs and Zacks and sell/underweight calls from Weiss and JPMorgan, although Wall Street Zen upgraded the stock to a buy.
• Sasol shares opened at $12.88 (12-month range $3.41–$13.68; 50-day/200-day MAs $11.15/$8.17), and several hedge funds including Millennium and JPMorgan markedly increased positions, signaling institutional buying despite the weak analyst consensus.

Sasol Ltd. (NYSE:SSL - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Reduce" from the six research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company.

A number of analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Sasol from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Sasol in a report on Monday, April 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an "underweight" rating on shares of Sasol in a report on Friday, January 16th. Zacks Research cut Sasol from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Sasol from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th.

Sasol Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of SSL stock opened at $12.88 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $11.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Sasol has a 12 month low of $3.41 and a 12 month high of $13.68.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Sasol

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sasol by 75.7% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,450,355 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $6,135,000 after buying an additional 624,911 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Sasol by 1,627.3% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,025,934 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $6,381,000 after buying an additional 966,539 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA acquired a new stake in Sasol during the 1st quarter valued at $11,284,000. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in Sasol by 52.0% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 835,052 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $5,436,000 after purchasing an additional 285,807 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Sasol by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 680,048 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $4,426,000 after purchasing an additional 6,109 shares in the last quarter. 1.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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