PFG Advisors Cuts Stake in Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL)

PFG Advisors lowered its stake in Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) by 13.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,461 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 519 shares during the quarter. PFG Advisors’ holdings in Shell were worth $217,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Shell by 930.2% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 443 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Human Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Shell during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new position in Shell in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Shell during the third quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Shell in the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. 28.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Shell Price Performance

NYSE SHEL opened at $68.78 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $66.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.25. The stock has a market cap of $209.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Shell plc has a 52 week low of $60.15 and a 52 week high of $74.61.

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

Shell Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.716 per share. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.16%. This is an increase from Shell’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. Shell’s payout ratio is 56.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have weighed in on SHEL. Morgan Stanley upgraded Shell from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $66.50 to $79.80 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Shell from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on shares of Shell from $82.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Shell from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Shell from $86.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $79.11.

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.