Sasol Ltd. (NYSE:SSL) Short Interest Update

Sasol Ltd. (NYSE:SSL) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 4,025,259 shares, an increase of 34.0% from the March 15th total of 3,003,147 shares. Approximately 0.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 3,036,876 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.3 days.

Sasol Trading Down 7.2%

Shares of NYSE:SSL traded down $0.95 during trading on Friday, reaching $12.18. 3,692,930 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,628,123. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $10.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $7.88. 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 has a 12-month low of $3.41 and a 12-month high of $13.68.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on SSL. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Sasol from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. UBS Group lowered shares of Sasol from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Sasol in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Sasol has an average rating of “Reduce”.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SSL. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Sasol by 75.7% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,450,355 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $6,135,000 after acquiring an additional 624,911 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Sasol by 1,627.3% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,025,934 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,381,000 after buying an additional 966,539 shares during the period. UBS Group AG raised its position in Sasol by 52.0% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 835,052 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $5,436,000 after purchasing an additional 285,807 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Sasol by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 680,048 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $4,426,000 after purchasing an additional 6,109 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in Sasol by 12.9% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 583,900 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $3,801,000 after purchasing an additional 66,900 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.21% of the company’s stock.

About Sasol

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.