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

Sasol Ltd. (NYSE:SSL)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $13.45, but opened at $12.78. Sasol shares last traded at $12.6940, with a volume of 171,351 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on SSL shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Sasol from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 5th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Sasol from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. UBS Group downgraded Sasol from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Sasol from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Sasol from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold”.

Sasol Trading Down 5.5%

The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $12.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $9.21.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Sasol news, EVP Sarushen Dhanapalan Pillay sold 2,182 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $13.14, for a total transaction of $28,671.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 16,313 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $214,352.82. This represents a 11.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Sasol

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in Sasol by 4.6% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 20,894 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 915 shares during the last quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Sasol by 5.1% during the third quarter. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC now owns 32,723 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $204,000 after acquiring an additional 1,593 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in Sasol by 8.9% during the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 21,317 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock valued at $133,000 after acquiring an additional 1,745 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc boosted its position in shares of Sasol by 15.3% during the 4th quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 14,269 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 1,893 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Sasol by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 62,848 shares of the oil and gas company’s stock worth $391,000 after purchasing an additional 2,334 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.