Synovus Financial Corp Has $9.78 Million Stake in Shell PLC Unsponsored ADR $SHEL

Key Points

• Synovus Financial Corp has increased its stake in Shell PLC Unsponsored ADR by 36.5% during the 1st quarter, owning a total of 133,516 shares valued at approximately $9.78 million.
• Shell recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.716 per share, reflecting a 3.9% dividend yield and a $3.50 billion stock repurchase program, signifying management's belief that the stock is undervalued.
• Multiple analysts have given Shell an average rating of "Moderate Buy", with an average price target of $76.71.

Synovus Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Shell PLC Unsponsored ADR (NYSE:SHEL - Free Report) by 36.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 133,516 shares of the energy company's stock after acquiring an additional 35,730 shares during the quarter. Synovus Financial Corp's holdings in Shell were worth $9,784,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in Shell during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Avalon Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Shell in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. boosted its stake in Shell by 103.4% in the 1st quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 356 shares of the energy company's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares during the period. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new stake in Shell during the 1st quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Shell in the first quarter valued at $38,000. 28.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Shell Stock Performance

Shares of SHEL stock traded up $0.28 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $73.99. The stock had a trading volume of 1,963,440 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,608,212. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $71.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $217.40 billion, a PE ratio of 16.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.44. Shell PLC Unsponsored ADR has a one year low of $58.54 and a one year high of $74.18.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The energy company reported $1.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $66.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $69.31 billion. Shell had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 10.67%. On average, analysts forecast that Shell PLC Unsponsored ADR will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

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

Shell Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.716 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.9%. Shell's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on SHEL. HSBC reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $78.30 price objective (down previously from $78.90) on shares of Shell in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Shell from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Shell from $80.00 to $79.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Shell from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on Shell from $84.00 to $82.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 18th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $76.71.

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.