Par Pacific (NYSE:PARR) Sets New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Par Pacific Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PARR) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $62.64 and last traded at $61.6980, with a volume of 1564166 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $57.20.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on PARR. TD Cowen upped their target price on Par Pacific from $39.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Par Pacific in a report on Monday, December 29th. Zacks Research cut Par Pacific from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 16th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Par Pacific in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Par Pacific from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Par Pacific presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $51.00.

Par Pacific Stock Up 7.9%

The company has a market capitalization of $3.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.46 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 1.61. The business’s 50 day moving average is $44.02 and its 200 day moving average is $40.52.

Par Pacific (NYSE:PARR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by ($0.04). Par Pacific had a net margin of 4.95% and a return on equity of 30.19%. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.79) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Par Pacific Holdings, Inc. will post 0.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO William Monteleone sold 108,948 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.06, for a total value of $5,889,728.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 457,167 shares in the company, valued at $24,714,448.02. This trade represents a 19.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 4.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in shares of Par Pacific by 23.9% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 23,453 shares of the company’s stock worth $334,000 after purchasing an additional 4,525 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Par Pacific by 118.2% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 164,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,344,000 after buying an additional 89,023 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in Par Pacific by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 32,304 shares of the company’s stock worth $461,000 after buying an additional 1,427 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in Par Pacific by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 146,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,085,000 after buying an additional 6,618 shares during the period. Finally, Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in Par Pacific by 352.7% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 270,835 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,862,000 after buying an additional 211,002 shares during the last quarter. 92.15% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Par Pacific

Par Pacific Holdings, Inc (NYSE: PARR) is a diversified downstream energy company engaged in the refining, marketing and logistics of petroleum products. Through its subsidiaries, Par Pacific operates the Par Hawaii Refinery on the island of Oʻahu, which processes crude oil into transportation fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as asphalt, petroleum coke and sulfur. In the Rocky Mountain region, the company owns and operates the Salt Lake City Refinery in Utah and associated logistics infrastructure, including pipelines and storage terminals, to support both crude supply and product distribution.

In marketing its refined products, Par Pacific maintains a network of branded and unbranded wholesale accounts across Hawaii and the U.S.