Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) Given Average Rating of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Buy” by the twelve brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $79.11.

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Shell from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $66.50 to $79.80 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Shell from $86.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Shell from $82.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Shell from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Shell from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Shell

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SHEL. CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Shell during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its position in shares of Shell by 930.2% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 443 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Shell during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Shell during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Shell during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. 28.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Shell Stock Performance

NYSE:SHEL opened at $68.78 on Friday. Shell has a 1 year low of $60.15 and a 1 year high of $74.61. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $66.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $209.17 billion, a PE ratio of 13.70, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.47.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The energy company reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.74 by ($0.54). Shell had a return on equity of 12.75% and a net margin of 5.57%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Shell will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Shell Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.716 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Shell’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.16%. Shell’s payout ratio is currently 56.97%.

Shell Company 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.