Renaissance Technologies LLC Decreases Position in Sasol Ltd. $SSL

Renaissance Technologies LLC lowered its stake in Sasol Ltd. (NYSE:SSL) by 40.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 350,500 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock after selling 233,400 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Sasol were worth $4,542,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of SSL. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Sasol during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd grew its position in Sasol by 232.5% in the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 5,606 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 3,920 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Sasol by 347.3% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 8,960 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 6,957 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sasol by 48.9% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 9,115 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $118,000 after purchasing an additional 2,992 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sasol during the fourth quarter worth $66,000. 1.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Sasol

In other news, EVP Sarushen Dhanapalan Pillay sold 2,182 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 16,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,352.82. The trade was a 11.80% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SSL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Sasol from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Zacks Research cut shares of Sasol from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Sasol in a research note on Monday, June 15th. UBS Group upgraded Sasol from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Sasol from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, June 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

Sasol Stock Up 3.4%

SSL opened at $11.31 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $11.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $10.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.09, a current ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Sasol Ltd. has a 12-month low of $4.77 and a 12-month high of $14.36.

Sasol 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.