Horizon Investments LLC Boosts Holdings in Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL)

Horizon Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) by 2.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,829 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 226 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC’s holdings in Shell were worth $678,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its stake in Shell by 930.2% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 443 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Human Investing LLC bought a new stake in Shell in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Shell during the third quarter valued at $35,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Shell in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Shell in the 4th quarter worth about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.60% of the company’s stock.

Shell Price Performance

SHEL opened at $71.56 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.35 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.22. Shell plc has a one year low of $60.15 and a one year high of $74.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $216.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.47.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The energy company reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.74 by ($0.54). Shell had a return on equity of 12.75% and a net margin of 5.57%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Shell plc will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Shell Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.716 per share. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.00%. This is an increase from Shell’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. Shell’s payout ratio is presently 56.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on SHEL. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Shell from $82.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Shell in a research report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $81.00 price target for the company. TD Securities boosted their price objective on shares of Shell from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Shell from $86.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Shell from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Shell presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.48.

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.