Melius Initiates Coverage on Shell (NYSE:SHEL)

Key Points

• Melius has initiated coverage on Shell (NYSE:SHEL) with a "hold" rating and a price target of $70.00, suggesting a potential downside of 2.01% from the current stock price.
• Shell has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with ten analysts recommending it as a Buy and a consensus target price of $77.46.
• The company recently reported earnings of $1.42 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations, and it is implementing a $3.50 billion stock buyback program as a sign of undervaluation.

Stock analysts at Melius started coverage on shares of Shell (NYSE:SHEL - Get Free Report) in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm set a "hold" rating and a $70.00 price target on the energy company's stock. Melius' price target would indicate a potential downside of 2.01% from the stock's current price.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Shell from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. HSBC reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $78.30 target price (down previously from $78.90) on shares of Shell in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of Shell from $84.00 to $82.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Santander cut shares of Shell to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Shell currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.46.

Shell Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SHEL opened at $71.4350 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Shell has a twelve month low of $58.54 and a twelve month high of $74.18. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $71.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $68.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $209.89 billion, a PE ratio of 16.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.44.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The energy company reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.29. The company 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%. Equities research analysts expect that Shell will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Shell announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Friday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to buyback $3.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the energy company to reacquire up to 1.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its stake in Shell by 50.5% in the second quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 480 shares of the energy company's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Shell by 3.9% in the first quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,367 shares of the energy company's stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Shell by 5.0% in the first quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,433 shares of the energy company's stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Shell by 2.4% in the first quarter. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,235 shares of the energy company's stock worth $505,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Golden State Equity Partners lifted its stake in Shell by 5.1% in the first quarter. Golden State Equity Partners now owns 3,562 shares of the energy company's stock worth $261,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.60% of the company's stock.

About Shell

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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