Baker Avenue Asset Management LP Decreases Holdings in Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL)

Baker Avenue Asset Management LP decreased its stake in shares of Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL - Free Report) by 33.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 38,967 shares of the energy company's stock after selling 19,677 shares during the quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP's holdings in Shell were worth $2,441,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its stake in Shell by 930.2% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 443 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new position in Shell in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Human Investing LLC acquired a new position in Shell during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in shares of Shell during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in Shell in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. 28.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Shell Price Performance

NYSE SHEL traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $65.07. The company had a trading volume of 3,655,761 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,321,910. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $195.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.96, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.38. Shell plc has a 52 week low of $58.55 and a 52 week high of $74.61.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $69.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.18 billion. Shell had a net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 12.75%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.40 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Shell plc will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Shell Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.716 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.40%. Shell's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.90%.

Shell declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback 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 leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on SHEL shares. UBS Group upgraded Shell from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Shell from $83.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Shell in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Shell from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, TD Securities reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Shell in a report on Friday, April 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $77.35.

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.