Par Pacific (NYSE:PARR) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Par Pacific Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PARR) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $56.07 and last traded at $55.9730, with a volume of 1416865 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $52.94.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research cut shares of Par Pacific from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Raymond James Financial reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Par Pacific in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. TD Cowen raised their target price 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Par Pacific in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Par Pacific from $44.00 to $53.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.00.

Par Pacific Stock Up 5.7%

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.74 billion, a PE ratio of 7.68 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The company’s 50-day moving average is $42.23 and its 200 day moving average is $39.78.

Par Pacific (NYSE:PARR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.21 by ($0.04). Par Pacific had a return on equity of 30.19% and a net margin of 4.95%.The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($0.79) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Par Pacific Holdings, Inc. will post 0.15 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Par Pacific

In other news, CEO William Monteleone sold 108,948 shares of Par Pacific stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.06, for a total transaction of $5,889,728.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 457,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,714,448.02. The trade was a 19.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 4.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Par Pacific

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PARR. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Par Pacific by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,855 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Par Pacific by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,948 shares of the company’s stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Par Pacific by 12.5% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 2,633 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 293 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Par Pacific by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 11,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $390,000 after purchasing an additional 299 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Par Pacific by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 15,787 shares of the company’s stock worth $555,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. 92.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.