Shell PLC Unsponsored ADR (NYSE:SHEL) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shell PLC Unsponsored ADR (NYSE:SHEL) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $80.1625.

Several analysts have commented on SHEL shares. Bank of America lowered shares of Shell from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Shell in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Wolfe Research lowered Shell from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Shell in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised Shell to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 23rd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Shell

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SHEL. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in Shell by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,445,346 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $103,386,000 after acquiring an additional 167,983 shares during the last quarter. Poehling Capital Management INC. acquired a new stake in Shell during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,213,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Shell by 70.1% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 32,564 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,386,000 after acquiring an additional 13,419 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp acquired a new position in Shell during the third quarter valued at $748,000. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new position in shares of Shell during the 3rd quarter valued at about $692,000. 28.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Shell Trading Down 1.7%

NYSE SHEL opened at $70.31 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $73.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.75. Shell has a one year low of $58.54 and a one year high of $77.47. The company has a market capitalization of $202.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 0.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.35.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The energy company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.72 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $68.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $70.50 billion. Shell had a net margin of 5.34% and a return on equity of 10.49%. Equities analysts forecast that Shell will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Shell Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 14th were given a dividend of $0.716 per share. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 14th. Shell’s payout ratio is currently 58.61%.

Shell Company Profile

Shell plc (NYSE: SHEL) is a global integrated energy company that operates across the full oil and gas value chain as well as in developing lower-carbon energy solutions. The company traces its roots to the early 20th century merger of Royal Dutch Petroleum and Shell Transport and Trading, and today it is organized to explore for and produce hydrocarbons, process and refine them, manufacture petrochemicals, and market fuel, lubricants and related products under the Shell brand around the world.

Shell’s principal activities include upstream exploration and production of oil and natural gas, integrated gas operations including liquefied natural gas (LNG), and downstream refining, supply and marketing.