Shell (NYSE:SHEL) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume - Should You Buy?

Shell PLC Unsponsored ADR (NYSE:SHEL - Get Free Report) shares saw an uptick in trading volume on Wednesday . 10,576,624 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 140% from the previous session's volume of 4,402,885 shares.The stock last traded at $68.76 and had previously closed at $70.14.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on SHEL. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Shell in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Shell from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Shell from $80.00 to $79.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Shell from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Shell in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Two investment 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Shell has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $78.11.

Shell Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $211.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.39. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $67.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $66.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The energy company reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.30. Shell had a net margin of 4.75% and a return on equity of 11.71%. The company had revenue of $69.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.40 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Shell PLC Unsponsored ADR will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Shell Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th were given a dividend of $0.716 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.03%. Shell's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.90%.

Shell declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Shell

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Shell by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. now owns 9,518 shares of the energy company's stock worth $596,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Titleist Asset Management LLC grew 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 worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC grew 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 worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC grew 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 worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbour Capital Advisors LLC grew 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 worth $505,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.