Argent Trust Co Reduces Holdings in Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL)

Argent Trust Co trimmed its position in shares of Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) by 8.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,593 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 593 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in Shell were worth $476,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Shell during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Shell during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Shell by 611.1% during the 4th quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 448 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Shell during the first quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank acquired a new stake in Shell in the second quarter valued at $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.60% of the company’s stock.

Shell Stock Performance

SHEL stock opened at $69.20 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $70.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.56. The company has a market capitalization of $218.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.77, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Shell plc has a fifty-two week low of $60.34 and a fifty-two week high of $74.61.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The energy company reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $75.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $88.62 billion. Shell had a return on equity of 14.56% and a net margin of 5.97%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.50 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Shell plc will post 8.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Shell Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.688 per share. This represents a $2.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 16th. Shell’s payout ratio is currently 50.74%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on SHEL. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Shell to a “moderate buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Argus lifted their target price on Shell from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Shell from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 21st. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Shell from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Shell in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.00.

Shell Profile

Shell plc operates as an energy and petrochemical company Europe, Asia, Oceania, Africa, the United States, and Rest of the Americas. The company operates through Integrated Gas, Upstream, Marketing, Chemicals and Products, and Renewables and Energy Solutions segments. It explores for and extracts crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids; markets and transports oil and gas; produces gas-to-liquids fuels and other products; and operates upstream and midstream infrastructure to deliver gas to market.