Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) Short Interest Update

Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 7,410,000 shares, a drop of 17.0% from the March 31st total of 8,930,000 shares. Approximately 0.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,350,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.4 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Shell in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. TD Securities restated a "buy" rating on shares of Shell in a research report on Friday, April 4th. UBS Group upgraded Shell from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Shell from $83.00 to $80.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $77.35.

Shell Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE SHEL traded down $1.53 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $65.11. 4,301,045 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,317,264. Shell has a twelve month low of $58.55 and a twelve month high of $74.61. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $195.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.97, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.89.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The energy company reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $69.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Shell will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Shell Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of Shell

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC grew its position in shares of Shell by 26.9% in the 1st quarter. Crestwood Advisors Group LLC now owns 14,431 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $1,057,000 after acquiring an additional 3,062 shares during the period. Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Shell by 1.6% during the first quarter. Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 157,973 shares of the energy company's stock worth $11,576,000 after purchasing an additional 2,555 shares during the period. Gallacher Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Shell by 2.6% in the first quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 9,298 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $681,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the period. Sargent Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Shell in the first quarter valued at approximately $216,000. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Shell by 91.0% during the 1st quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 28,402 shares of the energy company's stock worth $2,081,000 after acquiring an additional 13,528 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.