Hsbc Global Res Upgrades Shell (NYSE:SHEL) to Strong-Buy

Shell (NYSE:SHEL) was upgraded by research analysts at Hsbc Global Res to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

SHEL has been the subject of a number of other research reports. TD Securities reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Shell in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Shell in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Shell from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Shell from $83.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Shell in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $78.35.

Shell Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of Shell stock opened at $67.39 on Tuesday. Shell has a 1 year low of $58.55 and a 1 year high of $74.46. 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 business has a 50 day moving average price of $66.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.87. The company has a market capitalization of $202.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.38.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The energy company reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $69.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $79.18 billion. Shell had a return on equity of 12.75% and a net margin of 5.57%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.40 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Shell will post 7.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Shell declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, May 2nd that allows the company to buyback $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the energy company to reacquire up to 1.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Shell

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SHEL. First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. boosted 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 worth $596,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Foster Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Shell by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 3,393 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $213,000 after acquiring an additional 162 shares during the period. Titleist Asset Management LLC grew its position in Shell by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Titleist Asset Management LLC now owns 5,526 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $346,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Shell by 3.9% during the first quarter. Sax Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,367 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. Finally, Warther Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Shell by 5.0% in the first quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,433 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. 28.60% of the stock is currently 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.