Shell (NYSE:SHEL) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at BNP Paribas

Key Points

• Shell has been upgraded to a "strong-buy" rating by BNP Paribas, reflecting increased analyst confidence in the company.
• The average rating for Shell among analysts is currently a "Moderate Buy", with a target price of $76.71.
• Recent institutional investments have shown a positive trend, with firms such as Brighton Jones LLC increasing their positions in Shell by 51.7%.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at BNP Paribas to a "strong-buy" rating in a report released on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research firms also recently issued reports on SHEL. Melius Research started coverage on shares of Shell in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "hold" rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Santander downgraded shares of Shell to a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Shell from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Shell in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Shell from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Shell currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $76.71.

Shell Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE SHEL opened at $72.10 on Tuesday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $72.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.48. Shell has a 1 year low of $58.54 and a 1 year high of $74.21. The company has a market capitalization of $210.73 billion, a PE ratio of 16.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.32.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL - Get Free Report) last announced 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 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, research analysts predict that Shell will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Shell

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Shell by 51.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,463 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $468,000 after acquiring an additional 2,545 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Shell by 26.3% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 252,397 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $18,496,000 after acquiring an additional 52,541 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Shell by 4.4% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 19,323 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $1,401,000 after acquiring an additional 815 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Shell by 2.7% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 908,572 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $66,580,000 after acquiring an additional 23,680 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Shell by 100.9% during the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 11,534 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $845,000 after acquiring an additional 5,794 shares during the last quarter. 28.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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