Entropy Technologies LP Takes Position in Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL)

Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 16,328 shares of the energy company's stock, valued at approximately $1,023,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in Shell by 930.2% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 443 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Shell during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Shell in the third quarter worth $33,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Shell during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Shell by 40.8% in the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 563 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 28.60% of the company's stock.

Shell Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of SHEL traded up $1.27 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $67.40. The company had a trading volume of 3,528,612 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,304,601. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $64.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.03. The company has a market capitalization of $206.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.54. Shell plc has a 52 week low of $60.15 and a 52 week high of $74.61. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The energy company reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.74 by ($0.54). Shell had a net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 12.75%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Shell plc will post 7.46 EPS for the current year.

Shell Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.716 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 4.25%. Shell's dividend payout ratio is 56.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SHEL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded Shell from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $66.50 to $79.80 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Shell from $82.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Shell from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Shell from $86.00 to $82.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wolfe Research raised shares of Shell from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $80.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $79.11.

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.