Shell (NYSE:SHEL) Lowered to Hold Rating by Hsbc Global Res

Key Points

• Shell has been dropped from a "strong-buy" to a "hold" rating by HSBC Global Research, reflecting a shift in analysts' outlook.
• The company's current share price target set by HSBC is $78.30, slightly decreased from the previous target of $78.90.
• Despite the downgrade, Shell has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from research analysts, with a target price averaging $78.64.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Hsbc Global Res from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

SHEL has been the subject of several other research reports. HSBC reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $78.30 target price (down previously from $78.90) on shares of Shell in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Santander cut shares of Shell to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Shell from $80.00 to $79.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Scotiabank restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Shell in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Shell from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $78.64.

Shell Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of SHEL traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $71.64. 3,839,707 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,254,761. The company has a market cap of $211.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.14, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 0.44. 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 has a 52 week low of $58.54 and a 52 week high of $74.18. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $68.15.

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

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Shell

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Shell by 51.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,463 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 2,545 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Shell by 136.2% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 7,824 shares of the energy company's stock worth $490,000 after buying an additional 4,512 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Shell by 4.4% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 19,323 shares of the energy company's stock worth $1,401,000 after buying an additional 815 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Shell by 2.7% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 908,572 shares of the energy company's stock worth $66,580,000 after buying an additional 23,680 shares during the period. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Shell by 100.9% during the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 11,534 shares of the energy company's stock worth $845,000 after buying an additional 5,794 shares during the period. 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.