Clark Capital Management Group Inc. Boosts Position in Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL)

Clark Capital Management Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL - Free Report) by 14,434.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 556,239 shares of the energy company's stock after buying an additional 552,412 shares during the period. Clark Capital Management Group Inc.'s holdings in Shell were worth $34,848,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted 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 purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Shell during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Shell in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in Shell in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Shell during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.60% of the company's stock.

Shell Stock Up 1.7%

SHEL stock traded up $1.08 during trading on Friday, reaching $66.16. The stock had a trading volume of 4,584,184 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,323,047. The company's 50 day moving average is $66.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Shell plc has a one year low of $58.55 and a one year high of $74.61. The company has a market capitalization of $199.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.38.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The energy company reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $69.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $79.18 billion. Shell had a net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 12.75%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.40 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Shell plc will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Shell Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.716 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.33%. Shell's dividend payout ratio is presently 65.90%.

Shell announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Friday, May 2nd that allows the company to buyback $3.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the energy company to purchase up to 1.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SHEL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Securities reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Shell in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Shell from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Shell from $83.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Shell in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Shell from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $77.35.

Shell 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.