Zacks Research Downgrades Sasol (NYSE:SSL) to Hold

Key Points

• Zacks Research downgraded Sasol (NYSE:SSL) from a "strong-buy" to a "hold," and several other major firms have also moved to neutral/underweight or sell, leaving the stock with an average analyst rating of "Reduce".
• Sasol shares opened at $13.62, trading near a 12‑month high of $13.68, with a 50‑day SMA of $9.75 and a 200‑day SMA of $7.58, reflecting a recent upward price trend.
• Large institutions including Millennium Management, JPMorgan and UBS significantly increased their stakes recently, yet institutional investors still own only about 1.21% of the company.

Sasol (NYSE:SSL - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on SSL. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sasol from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Sasol from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Sasol in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. UBS Group downgraded Sasol from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an "underweight" rating on shares of Sasol in a report on Friday, January 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Reduce".

Sasol Price Performance

NYSE SSL opened at $13.62 on Monday. Sasol has a twelve month low of $2.78 and a twelve month high of $13.68. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $9.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $7.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.66.

Institutional Trading of Sasol

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Millennium Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Sasol by 75.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 624,911 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Sasol by 1,627.3% during 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. UBS Group AG raised its stake 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 worth $5,436,000 after buying an additional 285,807 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Sasol by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 680,048 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $4,426,000 after acquiring an additional 6,109 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Sasol by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 583,900 shares of the oil and gas company's stock worth $3,801,000 after acquiring an additional 66,900 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 1.21% of the company's stock.

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.

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.