Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) Receives $79.11 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Buy” by the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $79.11.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Shell

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SHEL. CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new position in Shell during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Shell by 930.2% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 443 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Shell in the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Human Investing LLC purchased a new position in Shell during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new position in Shell in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.60% of the company’s stock.

Shell Price Performance

Shares of Shell stock opened at $66.90 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Shell has a 52 week low of $60.15 and a 52 week high of $74.61. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.73. The company has a market capitalization of $203.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.33, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The energy company reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by ($0.54). Shell had a net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 12.75%. As a group, analysts expect that Shell will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Shell Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.716 per share. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.28%. This is a positive change from Shell’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Shell’s payout ratio is presently 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.