Sasol (NYSE:SSL) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Sasol Ltd. (NYSE:SSL)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $8.60, but opened at $9.10. Sasol shares last traded at $9.12, with a volume of 728,291 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on SSL. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Sasol in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Sasol from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. UBS Group cut shares of Sasol from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Sasol from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “underweight” rating on shares of Sasol in a research note on Friday, January 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Sasol Trading Up 7.3%

The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $7.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $6.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sasol

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SSL. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 624,911 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Sasol by 1,627.3% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,025,934 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,381,000 after purchasing an additional 966,539 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sasol by 25.5% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 890,502 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,936,000 after purchasing an additional 180,827 shares during the period. UBS Group AG boosted its stake in shares of Sasol by 52.0% in the fourth 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 during the period. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Sasol by 11.9% in the second quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 767,312 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,392,000 after purchasing an additional 81,769 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.