Sasol (NYSE:SSL) Shares Gap Down – Here’s Why

Sasol Ltd. (NYSE:SSL) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $12.27, but opened at $11.75. Sasol shares last traded at $11.75, with a volume of 99,860 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on SSL shares. Investec assumed coverage on shares of Sasol in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. They set a “sell” rating for the company. Zacks Research cut shares of Sasol from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Sasol from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Wall Street Zen lowered Sasol from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 15th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Sasol from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

Sasol Trading Down 0.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.66 and a quick ratio of 1.09. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $11.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $11.44.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sasol

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SSL. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in Sasol by 75.7% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,450,355 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $6,135,000 after purchasing an additional 624,911 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in Sasol by 31.9% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 154,700 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $654,000 after purchasing an additional 37,412 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Sasol during the second quarter valued at $52,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Sasol by 7,082.0% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 59,395 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 58,568 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 6,957 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.