Zacks Research Downgrades Sasol (NYSE:SSL) to Strong Sell

Sasol (NYSE:SSL) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Investec began coverage on shares of Sasol in a research note on Wednesday, June 17th. They issued a “sell” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Sasol in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Sasol from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 20th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Sasol from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Sasol from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Reduce”.

Sasol Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SSL opened at $10.33 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.09. Sasol has a fifty-two week low of $4.77 and a fifty-two week high of $14.36. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $12.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $10.33.

Insider Transactions at Sasol

In other Sasol news, EVP Sarushen Dhanapalan Pillay sold 2,182 shares of Sasol stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.14, for a total value of $28,671.48. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 16,313 shares in the company, valued at approximately $214,352.82. The trade was a 11.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sasol

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Sasol by 123.3% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,381,209 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $13,563,000 after acquiring an additional 762,796 shares during the period. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Sasol by 349.2% during the 1st quarter. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,601 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $163,000 after acquiring an additional 9,796 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Sasol by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 20,894 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $271,000 after purchasing an additional 915 shares during the last quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Sasol in the first quarter valued at approximately $228,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Sasol by 40.6% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 166,465 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $2,157,000 after purchasing an additional 48,086 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.