Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) has been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the twelve ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $79.69.

SHEL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Shell from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Shell from $82.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Shell from $87.00 to $86.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group upgraded Shell from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Shell from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $66.50 to $79.80 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Shell

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SHEL. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Shell by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 65,298,943 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $4,306,465,000 after purchasing an additional 3,255,347 shares in the last quarter. Empyrean Capital Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Shell in the 2nd quarter worth about $151,578,000. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Shell by 188.0% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,014,199 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $198,786,000 after purchasing an additional 1,967,672 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP grew its position in Shell by 29.8% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 3,773,617 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $248,870,000 after acquiring an additional 866,954 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd bought a new position in Shell during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,274,000. 28.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Shell Stock Performance

Shares of SHEL opened at $66.60 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $203.62 billion, a PE ratio of 13.70, a PEG ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $64.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.13. Shell has a 1 year low of $60.15 and a 1 year high of $74.61.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL) last issued its 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 net margin of 5.17% and a return on equity of 14.54%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Shell will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

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.