Sasol (NYSE:SSL) Stock Price Down 8.5% – Here’s What Happened

Sasol Ltd. (NYSE:SSL) shares traded down 8.5% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $7.81 and last traded at $7.79. 480,088 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average session volume of 2,010,010 shares. The stock had previously closed at $8.51.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SSL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Zacks Research upgraded Sasol from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Sasol in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Sasol from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Sasol from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “underweight” rating on shares of Sasol in a report on Friday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Sasol presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Sasol Stock Up 9.9%

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $7.20 and a 200-day moving average of $6.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a current ratio of 1.66.

Institutional Trading of Sasol

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Sasol by 75.7% in the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,450,355 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,135,000 after buying an additional 624,911 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Sasol by 1,627.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,025,934 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,381,000 after acquiring an additional 966,539 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Sasol by 25.5% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 890,502 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $3,936,000 after acquiring an additional 180,827 shares during the period. UBS Group AG grew its position in shares of Sasol by 52.0% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 835,052 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $5,436,000 after purchasing an additional 285,807 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in Sasol by 11.9% during the 2nd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 767,312 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,392,000 after purchasing an additional 81,769 shares during the period. 1.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.