Shell (NYSE:SHEL) Hits New 1-Year Low After Analyst Downgrade

Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Friday after Piper Sandler lowered their price target on the stock from $82.00 to $72.00. Piper Sandler currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Shell traded as low as $60.15 and last traded at $60.42, with a volume of 517045 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $60.78.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Barclays raised Shell to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Shell from $88.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Scotiabank cut their target price on Shell from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised Shell to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Citigroup raised Shell to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Shell presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $79.80.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of SHEL. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Shell by 5.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 65,298,943 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $4,306,465,000 after acquiring an additional 3,255,347 shares during the period. Empyrean Capital Partners LP bought a new position in Shell in the second quarter valued at about $151,578,000. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in Shell by 188.0% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,014,199 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $198,786,000 after acquiring an additional 1,967,672 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Shell by 29.8% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 3,773,617 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $248,870,000 after buying an additional 866,954 shares during the period. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd bought a new position in shares of Shell in the third quarter worth about $37,274,000. 28.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Shell Price Performance

The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $65.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.76. The company has a quick ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 1.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market cap of $186.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.48, a P/E/G ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 0.55.

Shell Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.688 dividend. This represents a $2.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Shell’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.58%.

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.