Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Decreases Stock Holdings in Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its holdings in Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 703,484 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 11,506 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Shell were worth $44,137,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its position in Shell by 930.2% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 443 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Human Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of Shell in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Shell during the third quarter valued at $35,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Shell in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Shell during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. 28.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Shell Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of SHEL stock opened at $71.56 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $66.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.22. Shell plc has a 12-month low of $60.15 and a 12-month high of $74.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $216.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.47.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The energy company reported $1.20 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that Shell plc will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Shell Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.716 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Shell’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.00%. Shell’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group raised Shell from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Shell from $86.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Shell from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $66.50 to $79.80 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen began coverage on Shell in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $81.00 price target for the company. Finally, TD Securities increased their price objective on Shell from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Shell presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.48.

About Shell

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.