HSBC Reaffirms "Hold" Rating for Shell (NYSE:SHEL)

Key Points

• HSBC has reiterated a "hold" rating for Shell (NYSE:SHEL) with a revised price target of $78.30, indicating a potential upside of 8.77% from its previous close.
• Shell's recent quarterly earnings reported an EPS of $1.42, surpassing estimates, but revenue fell short at $66.44 billion.
• The company has initiated a $3.50 billion stock buyback plan, suggesting the board believes its shares are undervalued.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold" rating reiterated by stock analysts at HSBC in a research report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $78.30 price target on the energy company's stock, down from their prior price target of $78.90. HSBC's price target points to a potential upside of 8.77% from the stock's previous close.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Shell in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on Shell from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Shell from $80.00 to $79.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Santander lowered Shell to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Shell from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $78.64.

Shell Stock Down 0.3%

SHEL opened at $71.99 on Monday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $70.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.99. The stock has a market cap of $212.81 billion, a PE ratio of 16.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.44. Shell has a 1-year low of $58.54 and a 1-year high of $74.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The energy company reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $66.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $69.31 billion. Shell had a return on equity of 10.67% and a net margin of 4.93%. As a group, research analysts expect that Shell will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Shell

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC increased its stake in shares of Shell by 50.5% in the 2nd quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 480 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Titleist Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Shell by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Titleist Asset Management LLC now owns 5,526 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $346,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Shell by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,367 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $320,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Shell by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,433 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Shell by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,235 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $505,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.

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