Shell PLC Unsponsored ADR (NYSE:SHEL) Short Interest Up 17.7% in March

Shell PLC Unsponsored ADR (NYSE:SHEL) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 10,305,882 shares, a growth of 17.7% from the February 26th total of 8,754,533 shares. Currently, 0.4% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 8,068,928 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.3 days.

Shell News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Shell this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Continued, sizable share buy‑backs — Shell executed on‑ and off‑market purchases on March 30–31 as part of its buy‑back programme, cancelling several hundred thousand shares across LSE, Chi‑X, BATS and European venues. Ongoing repurchases reduce share count and support EPS/share valuations. Transaction in Own Shares (31 Mar) Transaction in Own Shares (30 Mar)
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/market re‑rating after recent strong share momentum — commentary and analysis note a material run in the share price over the past 1–3 months, prompting investors to reassess valuation and buy into momentum. This helps explain intraday upside. Assessing Shell’s Valuation
• Neutral Sentiment: Corporate housekeeping — Shell published its total voting rights and capital figure (5,638,556,417 ordinary shares, no treasury shares), confirming the denominator for shareholder notification thresholds. This is procedural but relevant after buybacks. Voting Rights and Capital
• Neutral Sentiment: Pilot programme with wave‑energy partner completed — Eco Wave Power submitted a final completion report to Shell for a Los Angeles pilot, a small-step renewable collaboration that’s exploratory rather than material to core earnings. Eco Wave Power Completes Pilot
• Neutral Sentiment: News mention of “shell companies” in a scandal — reporting on Florida shell companies tied to an Argentine soccer scandal has surfaced; the reference is to anonymous entities, not the Shell group itself, but could generate headline noise. Florida shell companies linked to scandal
• Negative Sentiment: Legal pressure: request to force Shell Power to produce internal documents — an application to the Supreme Court seeking disclosure of “secret company documents” raises litigation and disclosure risk that could be a drag if it escalates. Kent Quinlan asks Supreme Court
• Negative Sentiment: Geopolitical/shipping risk — Shell is in emergency UK talks over Iran‑linked shipping disruptions that could affect tanker routes, LNG flows and operational exposure; heightened policy/geopolitical risk can increase volatility and create downside risk to operations or markets. Shell faces Iran shipping crisis Shell warns Australia on LNG windfall tax

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on SHEL shares. Scotiabank upgraded Shell to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Shell from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Sunday, March 22nd. Bank of America cut shares of Shell from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Shell in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Shell from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.05.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SHEL. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its position in Shell by 13.2% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 1,445,346 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $103,386,000 after acquiring an additional 167,983 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Shell by 0.5% during the third quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 596,972 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $42,701,000 after purchasing an additional 3,084 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Shell by 187.5% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 316,216 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $23,236,000 after purchasing an additional 677,746 shares during the last quarter. Allied Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Shell by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Allied Investment Advisors LLC now owns 196,452 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $14,435,000 after purchasing an additional 4,720 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in Shell by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 180,630 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $13,273,000 after buying an additional 42,129 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.60% of the company’s stock.

Shell Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE:SHEL traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $92.95. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 11,730,068 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,155,943. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.30. The company has a market capitalization of $263.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 0.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $82.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $76.61. Shell has a 12 month low of $58.54 and a 12 month high of $94.90.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The energy company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.21 by ($0.07). Shell had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 6.52%.The company had revenue of $64.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $65.82 billion. Equities analysts predict that Shell will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Shell Company Profile

Shell plc (NYSE: SHEL) is a global integrated energy company that operates across the full oil and gas value chain as well as in developing lower-carbon energy solutions. The company traces its roots to the early 20th century merger of Royal Dutch Petroleum and Shell Transport and Trading, and today it is organized to explore for and produce hydrocarbons, process and refine them, manufacture petrochemicals, and market fuel, lubricants and related products under the Shell brand around the world.

Shell’s principal activities include upstream exploration and production of oil and natural gas, integrated gas operations including liquefied natural gas (LNG), and downstream refining, supply and marketing.