Shell (NYSE:SHEL) Lifted to “Hold” at Citigroup

Citigroup upgraded shares of Shell (NYSE:SHEL) to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Zacks.com reports.

SHEL has been the subject of several other research reports. Barclays raised Shell to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Wednesday. Argus boosted their target price on shares of Shell from $77.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, June 6th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Shell in a report on Thursday, July 18th. They set a peer perform rating for the company. Berenberg Bank raised shares of Shell to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their target price on Shell from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a sector outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Shell presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $83.50.

Shell Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:SHEL opened at $68.50 on Wednesday. Shell has a 1 year low of $60.34 and a 1 year high of $74.61. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $70.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $216.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.64, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.57.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The energy company reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.15. Shell had a net margin of 5.97% and a return on equity of 14.56%. The business had revenue of $75.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $88.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.50 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Shell will post 8.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Shell Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, August 16th were issued a $0.688 dividend. This represents a $2.75 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.02%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 16th. Shell’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.74%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Shell

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. United Community Bank raised its holdings in shares of Shell by 4.4% during the first quarter. United Community Bank now owns 3,315 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Shell by 1.3% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 11,097 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $801,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the period. Marcum Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Shell by 3.7% in the first quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 4,223 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $283,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich grew its holdings in shares of Shell by 0.6% during the first quarter. Lester Murray Antman dba SimplyRich now owns 26,743 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,793,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sax Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Shell by 4.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,086 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $295,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. 28.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Shell

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.