Sasol (NYSE:SSL) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Sasol Ltd. (NYSE:SSL) reached a new 52-week high on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $17.23 and last traded at $17.0280, with a volume of 57,118 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $16.19.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Sasol from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 9th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Sasol from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. Wall Street Zen raised Sasol from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Sasol from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Sasol Stock Up 4.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $13.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $12.62.

Sasol (NYSE:SSL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 14th. The oil and gas company reported $0.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $4.61 billion during the quarter. Equities analysts forecast that Sasol Ltd. will post 2.71 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Sandile Lawrence Siyaya sold 2,842 shares of Sasol stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.70, for a total transaction of $36,093.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 301 shares in the company, valued at $3,822.70. The trade was a 90.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Vuyo Dominic Kahla sold 22,608 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.70, for a total value of $287,121.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 114,792 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,457,858.40. The trade was a 16.45% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 60,412 shares of company stock worth $800,983. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Sasol by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 20,894 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $271,000 after acquiring an additional 915 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Sasol by 48.9% in the 1st 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 during the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Sasol by 32.7% in the first quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 14,387 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $186,000 after purchasing an additional 3,549 shares during the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 4,330 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. acquired a new stake in Sasol in the 3rd quarter worth $83,000. 1.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Sasol Company Profile

Sasol Limited is an integrated chemicals and energy company headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa. The company develops and commercializes technologies that convert coal and natural gas into fuels, chemical feedstocks and other products, including through Fischer–Tropsch processes. Its portfolio includes fuel components, solvents, alcohols, surfactants, waxes, polymers and other specialty and performance chemicals used in industrial and consumer applications.

Sasol’s operations have historically been centered in South Africa, where the company operates major energy and chemicals facilities, with additional manufacturing, research and marketing activities in international markets.