Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) Shares Sold by Yaupon Capital Management LP

Yaupon Capital Management LP lessened its stake in shares of Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL - Free Report) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 686,365 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 7,276 shares during the period. Shell accounts for approximately 1.8% of Yaupon Capital Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Yaupon Capital Management LP's holdings in Shell were worth $43,001,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Shell by 930.2% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 443 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the period. CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of Shell in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Shell during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in shares of Shell in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in Shell in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on SHEL. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Shell in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. TD Securities reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Shell in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Shell from $87.00 to $83.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Shell from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $80.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their target price on Shell from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $77.73.

Shell Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SHEL traded up $0.84 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $65.89. 3,598,399 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,316,056. The stock has a market cap of $198.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.13, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.27. Shell plc has a twelve month low of $58.55 and a twelve month high of $74.61. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $67.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $65.99. 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 (NYSE:SHEL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The energy company reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.74 by ($0.54). Shell had a net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 12.75%. On average, research analysts forecast that Shell plc will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Shell Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.716 dividend. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Shell's previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Shell's payout ratio is currently 56.97%.

Shell 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.