Shell (NYSE:SHEL) Lowered to "Market Perform" Rating by Sanford C. Bernstein

Shell (NYSE:SHEL - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Sanford C. Bernstein from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating on shares of Shell in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Shell from $83.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Shell from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Shell from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Shell to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Shell currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $78.26.

Shell Stock Performance

NYSE SHEL traded down $0.81 during trading on Monday, reaching $71.73. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,589,661 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,315,465. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $65.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $214.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Shell has a 12 month low of $58.55 and a 12 month high of $74.46.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The energy company reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.30. Shell had a net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 12.75%. The business had revenue of $69.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $79.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.40 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Shell will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Shell declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Friday, May 2nd that allows the company to buyback $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the energy company to repurchase up to 1.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Shell

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of Shell in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Avalon Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Shell in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. increased its position in Shell by 103.4% during the first 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 last quarter. CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Shell during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Human Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Shell during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. 28.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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