Sasol (NYSE:SSL) Lowered to Neutral Rating by UBS Group

Key Points

• UBS downgraded Sasol from "buy" to "neutral" and several other brokers have trimmed ratings (including Goldman Sachs), leaving a MarketBeat average rating of "Hold" with one Strong Buy, three Holds and two Sells.
• Sasol shares traded down 1.4% to $8.48 on the day with 960,387 shares changing hands (vs. a 2.11M average); the stock trades in a 52‑week range of $2.78–$9.35 and shows a quick ratio of 1.09, current ratio of 1.66 and debt-to-equity of 0.53.
• Institutional activity has accelerated—JPMorgan boosted its stake by 1,627.3% to ~1.026M shares and Millennium raised holdings by 75.7%, while Voleon and Arrowstreet opened new positions; institutional ownership is reported at 1.21%.

Sasol (NYSE:SSL - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at UBS Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Finviz reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on SSL. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Sasol from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Sasol in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Zacks Research raised Sasol from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Sasol from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an "underweight" rating on shares of Sasol in a report on Friday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold".

Sasol Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of SSL traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $8.48. 960,387 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,114,124. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Sasol has a 52-week low of $2.78 and a 52-week high of $9.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $7.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $6.74.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in 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 during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 worth $6,135,000 after acquiring an additional 624,911 shares during the period. Voleon Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Sasol during the third quarter worth approximately $3,079,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of Sasol during the third quarter valued at approximately $3,006,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Sasol by 206.2% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 537,250 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $2,375,000 after purchasing an additional 361,777 shares during the period. 1.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sasol Company Profile

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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