Brokerages Set Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) Price Target at $78.98

Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Buy" from the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $77.73.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Shell from $87.00 to $83.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Shell in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Shell from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Shell from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $66.50 to $79.80 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price target on Shell from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Shell

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its position 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 worth $27,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Shell during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Human Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Shell during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Shell during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Shell in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 28.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Shell Price Performance

Shares of SHEL stock traded up $2.27 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $62.05. 8,668,886 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,316,682. Shell has a fifty-two week low of $58.55 and a fifty-two week high of $74.61. The firm has a market cap of $187.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.27. 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 50 day moving average of $67.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.20.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL - Get Free Report) last announced 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 5.57% and a return on equity of 12.75%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Shell will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Shell Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.716 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Shell's previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.62%. Shell's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.97%.

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.