Sasol (NYSE:SSL) Hits New 52-Week High – What’s Next?

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on SSL. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Sasol from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. 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 research note on Monday, August 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Sasol from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Sasol Stock Up 4.3%

The business has a 50-day moving average of $13.66 and a 200-day moving average of $12.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Walt Bruns sold 7,890 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 value of $100,203.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 54,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $693,775.60. The trade was a 12.62% 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. Also, EVP Vuyo Dominic Kahla sold 22,608 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.70, for a total transaction of $287,121.60. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 114,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,457,858.40. The trade was a 16.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 60,412 shares of company stock worth $800,983 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA acquired a new position in Sasol during the first quarter worth $11,284,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Sasol by 123.3% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,381,209 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $13,563,000 after purchasing an additional 762,796 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in Sasol in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,084,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Sasol during the first quarter worth about $1,231,000. Finally, Barometer Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Sasol by 258.7% in the first quarter. Barometer Capital Management Inc. now owns 99,000 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $1,283,000 after buying an additional 71,400 shares during the last quarter. 1.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.