Par Pacific Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PARR) Short Interest Up 28.9% in February

Par Pacific Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PARR) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 4,640,000 shares, an increase of 28.9% from the February 13th total of 3,600,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,170,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.0 days. Currently, 8.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Par Pacific Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE:PARR traded down $0.32 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $14.41. 1,434,443 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,247,947. The stock has a market capitalization of $788.86 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 2.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 1.69. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $15.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.93. Par Pacific has a 12 month low of $11.86 and a 12 month high of $40.20.

Par Pacific (NYSE:PARR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The company reported ($0.79) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.15) by ($0.64). The firm had revenue of $1.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.68 billion. Par Pacific had a return on equity of 10.06% and a net margin of 3.74%. Analysts predict that Par Pacific will post 0.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Par Pacific

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Walleye Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Par Pacific by 1,014.3% during the 3rd quarter. Walleye Capital LLC now owns 273,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,820,000 after buying an additional 249,290 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Par Pacific by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,461,282 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,919,000 after acquiring an additional 328,325 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Par Pacific by 126.2% during the 4th quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 49,256 shares of the company’s stock worth $843,000 after acquiring an additional 27,480 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC boosted its holdings in Par Pacific by 63.8% during the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 303,970 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,350,000 after acquiring an additional 118,393 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Par Pacific by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 127,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,248,000 after acquiring an additional 8,844 shares during the last quarter. 92.15% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Par Pacific from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. StockNews.com downgraded Par Pacific from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Raymond James started coverage on Par Pacific in a report on Friday, January 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on Par Pacific from $21.00 to $17.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Par Pacific from $25.00 to $21.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $22.57.

About Par Pacific

Par Pacific Holdings, Inc owns and operates energy and infrastructure businesses. The company operates through Refining, Retail, and Logistics segments. The Refining segment owns and operates refineries that produce gasoline, distillate, asphalt, and other products primarily for consumption in Kapolei, Hawaii, Newcastle, Wyoming, Tacoma, Washington, and Billings, Montana.