Shell (NYSE:SHEL) Downgraded to Equal Weight Rating by Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley cut shares of Shell (NYSE:SHEL) from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note released on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on SHEL. Bank of America cut shares of Shell from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Shell from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut Shell from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Shell in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Shell from $89.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.05.

Shell Price Performance

SHEL opened at $91.16 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $80.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.89. The company has a market capitalization of $258.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.03. Shell has a 1 year low of $58.54 and a 1 year high of $92.95.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The energy company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by ($0.07). Shell had a net margin of 6.52% and a return on equity of 10.34%. The firm had revenue of $64.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.82 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Shell will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Shell

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Colonial Trust Advisors lifted its position in shares of Shell by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Advisors now owns 1,488 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Shell by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. Argent Advisors Inc. now owns 4,717 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $337,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. First PREMIER Bank raised its stake in Shell by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. First PREMIER Bank now owns 2,653 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $190,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC boosted its position in Shell by 25.1% during the fourth quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 846 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Finally, Seven Mile Advisory increased its stake in shares of Shell by 3.3% in the second quarter. Seven Mile Advisory now owns 5,572 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. 28.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Shell

Here are the key news stories impacting Shell this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company buy-back activity — Shell continued buying shares for cancellation as part of its Feb 5 buy-back program, purchasing roughly 3.6 million shares across European venues on March 23–24, shrinking float and supporting EPS. Transaction in Own Shares (24 March 2026)
• Positive Sentiment: Adura JV financing — Shell-Equinor JV Adura secured a $3 billion reserve-based lending facility, strengthening project-level liquidity for UK North Sea production and reducing near-term financing risk. Shell-Equinor JV Adura secures $3 billion lending facility
• Positive Sentiment: Supply-tightening comments could lift product margins — CEO Wael Sawan warned at CERAWeek that fuel-product supplies are tightening (Asia now, Europe potentially by April). Tighter refined-product markets can support refining margins and Shell’s integrated earnings. CERAWEEK Energy security key to national security, Shell CEO says
• Neutral Sentiment: Market commentary — The Zacks Analyst Blog flagged Shell among energy names in a volatile week driven by Middle East tensions and oil-market disruptions; useful context but not a direct catalyst. The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights Shell
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst downgrade — Morgan Stanley downgraded Shell from “overweight” to “equal weight,” a direct sell-side headwind that can pressure sentiment and reduce marginal demand for the stock. Finviz (Morgan Stanley downgrade)
• Negative Sentiment: Rising short interest — Short interest rose ~17.7% in March to about 10.3M shares (≈0.4% of float), increasing potential selling pressure and volatility despite a low days-to-cover (~1.3 days).
• Negative Sentiment: Operational risk in Middle East exposure — Reports that Iranian missile strikes heavily damaged a major gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant in Qatar and Shell warnings about long-term LNG confidence highlight potential lost volumes and near-term revenue hit for global producers and trading operations. Iranian Missile Strikes Are Costing Big Oil Billions in Lost Revenue

About Shell

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.