Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 5,050,000 shares, a decline of 18.5% from the February 13th total of 6,200,000 shares. Approximately 0.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 4,190,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.2 days.

Shell Price Performance

NYSE:SHEL traded down $0.88 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $71.08. 3,756,201 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,958,949. The business has a 50 day moving average of $67.05 and a 200 day moving average of $66.26. The company has a market capitalization of $214.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.16, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.47. Shell has a 1-year low of $60.15 and a 1-year high of $74.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The energy company reported $1.20 earnings per share 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%. Research analysts forecast that Shell will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

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Shell Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.716 dividend. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from Shell's previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Shell's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on SHEL shares. Wolfe Research raised Shell from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. TD Securities increased their target price on Shell from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley upgraded Shell from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $66.50 to $79.80 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler lowered their target price on Shell from $82.00 to $72.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Shell from $86.00 to $82.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 31st. One research 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $79.48.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Shell

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Shell during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Shell during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Shell during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Shell during the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.60% of the company's stock.

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.