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

Shares of Par Pacific Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PARR) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $70.39 and last traded at $69.4410, with a volume of 1484362 shares. The stock had previously closed at $67.36.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PARR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Par Pacific from $48.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Par Pacific from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $53.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Par Pacific from $49.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Zacks Research upgraded Par Pacific from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Par Pacific from $40.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Par Pacific currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $67.00.

Par Pacific Price Performance

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 company has a fifty day moving average price of $57.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.06. The company has a market cap of $3.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.53 and a beta of 0.91.

Par Pacific (NYSE:PARR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $0.78 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.00 by ($0.22). Par Pacific had a net margin of 4.95% and a return on equity of 30.19%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.78 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.94) earnings per share. Par Pacific’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Par Pacific Holdings, Inc. will post 14.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO William Monteleone sold 108,948 shares of Par Pacific stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.06, for a total transaction of $5,889,728.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 457,167 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,714,448.02. This trade represents a 19.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PARR. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new stake in Par Pacific in the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Par Pacific during the third quarter worth $48,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Par Pacific by 81.1% during 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 increased its holdings 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 valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Par Pacific by 385.6% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 1,962 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 1,558 shares during the last quarter. 92.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Par Pacific

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.