Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. Boosts Stake in Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL)

Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc. grew its stake in Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) by 6.7% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 21,347 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 1,346 shares during the period. Ipswich Investment Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in Shell were worth $1,564,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in SHEL. First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Shell by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. now owns 9,518 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $596,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Titleist Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Shell by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Titleist Asset Management LLC now owns 5,526 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $346,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC grew its holdings in Shell by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 3,421 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $214,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Shell by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Denali Advisors LLC now owns 17,001 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $1,065,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MGO One Seven LLC grew its holdings in Shell by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 3,468 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $217,000 after acquiring an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.60% of the company’s stock.

Shell Stock Performance

SHEL stock opened at $72.49 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $216.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.44, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.05. Shell plc has a fifty-two week low of $58.55 and a fifty-two week high of $74.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL) last issued its 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 return on equity of 12.75% and a net margin of 5.57%. The company had revenue of $69.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.40 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Shell plc will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Shell declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Friday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to buyback $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the energy company to buy up to 1.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Shell Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.95%. Shell’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SHEL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Shell in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Shell to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Shell from $83.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Shell from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Shell from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Shell currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $78.26.

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.