Sasol (NYSE:SSL) Shares Up 4.2% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Sasol Ltd. shares increased by 4.2% to $5.56, despite a significant decline in trading volume compared to the average.
• Recent analyst ratings for Sasol include an upgrade from Wall Street Zen to "strong-buy" and a downgrade from Morgan Stanley to "equal weight," with an average rating of "Reduce" from multiple analysts.
• Several institutional investors, including Bank of America, have significantly increased their holdings in Sasol, indicating growing interest among major financial players.

Sasol Ltd. (NYSE:SSL - Get Free Report) shares shot up 4.2% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $5.56 and last traded at $5.56. 289,801 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 1,205,554 shares. The stock had previously closed at $5.33.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SSL. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Sasol from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sasol from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, October 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Sasol in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Sasol presently has an average rating of "Reduce".

Sasol Stock Up 2.9%

The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $6.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.09. The company has a market capitalization of $3.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.30 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sasol

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. PDS Planning Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Sasol in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $77,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Sasol by 107.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 8,637 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 4,482 shares during the period. Evergreen Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sasol in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $102,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Sasol by 210.5% in the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 221,995 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $981,000 after acquiring an additional 150,494 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE raised its stake in shares of Sasol by 206.2% in the 2nd 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 acquiring an additional 361,777 shares during the period. 1.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Sasol

Sasol Limited operates as a chemical and energy company in South Africa and internationally. It offers alumina, such as battery materials, catalyst supports, abrasives and polishing, and polymer additives; cobalt fischer-tropsch catalysts; carbon-based and recarburiser products; graphite electrodes; and mono-ethylene glycol and chlor-alkali products, monomers, mining chemicals and reagents, blends and hydrocarbons, methanol products, polymers, phenolics, and fertilizers.

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