Wall Street Zen Upgrades Par Pacific (NYSE:PARR) to Strong-Buy

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Par Pacific (NYSE:PARR) from a "buy" to a "strong-buy," though MarketBeat data shows an average analyst rating of "Hold" with an average price target of $49.50 as other firms' views remain mixed.
• Shares opened at $53.80 (up ~1.2%), giving a market cap of $2.64 billion and a P/E of 7.38, trading near its 52-week high of $54.72.
• In the latest quarter Par Pacific reported EPS of $1.17 (missing by $0.04) while revenue of $1.81 billion beat estimates, and institutional investors own about 92.15% of the stock.

Par Pacific (NYSE:PARR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

PARR has been the topic of a number of other reports. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Par Pacific from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Par Pacific in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Par Pacific in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research lowered Par Pacific from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Par Pacific from $44.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Par Pacific currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $49.50.

Par Pacific Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of Par Pacific stock opened at $53.80 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.38 and a beta of 1.17. Par Pacific has a 52-week low of $12.04 and a 52-week high of $54.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 1.61. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $41.17 and its 200 day simple moving average is $39.32.

Par Pacific (NYSE:PARR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.21 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. Par Pacific had a return on equity of 30.19% and a net margin of 4.95%.Par Pacific's revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.79) EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Par Pacific will post 0.15 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Par Pacific

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PARR. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new position in Par Pacific in the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Par Pacific in the third quarter worth $48,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Par Pacific by 81.1% in the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,340 shares of the company's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 1,048 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Par Pacific by 16.2% in the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the company's stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in shares of Par Pacific in the third quarter worth $82,000. Institutional investors own 92.15% of the company's stock.

Par Pacific Company Profile

Par Pacific Holdings, Inc NYSE: PARR is a diversified downstream energy company engaged in the refining, marketing and logistics of petroleum products. Through its subsidiaries, Par Pacific operates the Par Hawaii Refinery on the island of Oʻahu, which processes crude oil into transportation fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as asphalt, petroleum coke and sulfur. In the Rocky Mountain region, the company owns and operates the Salt Lake City Refinery in Utah and associated logistics infrastructure, including pipelines and storage terminals, to support both crude supply and product distribution.

In marketing its refined products, Par Pacific maintains a network of branded and unbranded wholesale accounts across Hawaii and the U.S.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.