Sasol (NYSE:SSL) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Sasol Ltd. (NYSE:SSL) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $13.45, but opened at $12.78. Sasol shares last traded at $12.6940, with a volume of 171,351 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Sasol from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Sasol from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Sasol from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Sasol from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, UBS Group downgraded shares of Sasol from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Sasol Trading Up 1.0%

The company’s 50 day moving average is $12.92 and its 200 day moving average is $9.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.66.

Insider Transactions at Sasol

In other news, EVP Sarushen Dhanapalan Pillay sold 2,182 shares of Sasol stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.14, for a total value of $28,671.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 16,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $214,352.82. The trade was a 11.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Sasol

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SSL. Arkadios Wealth Advisors purchased a new stake in Sasol during the first quarter worth about $228,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its position in Sasol by 40.6% during the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 166,465 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,157,000 after purchasing an additional 48,086 shares during the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its position in Sasol by 14.3% during the first quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 159,063 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $2,061,000 after purchasing an additional 19,940 shares during the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. grew its stake in Sasol by 41.8% during the first quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 14,678 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $190,000 after buying an additional 4,330 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its stake in Sasol by 3.1% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 796,208 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $10,319,000 after buying an additional 23,994 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.