Park Avenue Securities LLC Lowers Holdings in Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL)

Park Avenue Securities LLC cut its holdings in Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) by 18.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 54,837 shares of the energy company’s stock after selling 12,074 shares during the quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Shell were worth $4,018,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in shares of Shell in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. RDA Financial Network grew its stake in Shell by 14.5% in the first quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 4,437 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $325,000 after purchasing an additional 562 shares during the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its position in shares of Shell by 3.4% during the first quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 11,296 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $828,000 after buying an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Shell by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 7,969 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $584,000 after buying an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pines Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Shell by 7.0% in the 1st quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,811 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $866,000 after buying an additional 768 shares during the last quarter. 28.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SHEL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Shell from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Shell in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Shell in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Shell from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Shell from $83.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Shell currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.26.

Shell Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of SHEL stock opened at $68.26 on Tuesday. Shell plc has a fifty-two week low of $58.55 and a fifty-two week high of $74.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $204.03 billion, a PE ratio of 13.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.35. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $65.37 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.89.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The energy company reported $1.84 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.30. Shell had a net margin of 5.57% and a return on equity of 12.75%. 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. Equities analysts expect that Shell plc will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Shell Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a dividend of $0.716 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.20%. Shell’s dividend payout ratio is presently 65.90%.

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

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.