Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in 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. Based on an average daily volume of 4,190,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.2 days. Currently, 0.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Trading of Shell

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Shell during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its position in Shell by 930.2% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 443 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Human Investing LLC acquired a new position in Shell during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Shell during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in Shell during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.60% of the company’s stock.

Shell Trading Up 0.8 %

SHEL traded up $0.59 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $71.56. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,026,308 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,961,097. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $217.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.26, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $66.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.19. Shell has a 52-week low of $60.15 and a 52-week high of $74.61.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The energy company reported $1.20 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Shell will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Shell Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SHEL. TD Securities lifted their price target on Shell from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley upgraded Shell from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $66.50 to $79.80 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Wolfe Research upgraded 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. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Shell from $82.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on Shell in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $81.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.48.

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.