Shell Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:SHEL)

Key Points

• Shell experienced a significant spike in options trading with approximately 17,388 call options bought, marking an increase of about 111% from the typical daily volume.
• The company reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.42 for the recent quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.13, despite revenue falling short of consensus estimates.
• Shell announced a quarterly dividend of $0.716 per share, translating to an annualized dividend of $2.86 and a yield of 4.0%.

Shell PLC Unsponsored ADR (NYSE:SHEL - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders acquired 17,388 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 111% compared to the typical daily volume of 8,245 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on SHEL. Santander cut shares of Shell to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Shell from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday, June 16th. Melius initiated coverage on shares of Shell in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. They set a "hold" rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Shell from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on shares of Shell from $84.00 to $82.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 18th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Shell currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $76.71.

Shell Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE SHEL traded down $0.63 on Friday, hitting $71.39. 5,359,895 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,195,382. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $72.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $209.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.46. Shell has a 52-week low of $58.54 and a 52-week high of $74.21.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The energy company reported $1.42 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.13 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $66.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $69.31 billion. Shell had a net margin of 4.93% and a return on equity of 10.67%. Research analysts forecast that Shell will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Shell Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.716 per share. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Shell's payout ratio is currently 64.41%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Shell

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SHEL. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Shell by 2.0% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 23,272,913 shares of the energy company's stock worth $1,705,430,000 after acquiring an additional 451,233 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Shell by 5.1% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,253,238 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $531,519,000 after acquiring an additional 352,569 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Shell by 21.2% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 6,571,809 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $481,582,000 after acquiring an additional 1,150,198 shares during the last quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Shell by 0.4% during the first quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 3,592,218 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $263,238,000 after acquiring an additional 15,043 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Shell by 170.3% during the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 3,463,372 shares of the energy company's stock valued at $216,980,000 after acquiring an additional 2,182,253 shares during the last quarter. 28.60% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.