Simplicity Wealth LLC Acquires 4,630 Shares of Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL)

Simplicity Wealth LLC raised its position in Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) by 90.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,745 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 4,630 shares during the quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC’s holdings in Shell were worth $714,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in Shell in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Shell in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Human Investing LLC acquired a new position in Shell in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in Shell in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Shell in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. 28.60% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Shell Stock Performance

NYSE:SHEL opened at $70.97 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $212.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $65.51 and its 200-day moving average is $65.95. Shell plc has a 1-year low of $58.55 and a 1-year high of $74.46.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL) last released 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. The company had revenue of $69.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 previous year, the business posted $2.40 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Shell plc will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Shell Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th will be paid a $0.716 dividend. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Shell’s dividend payout ratio is currently 65.90%.

Shell declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Friday, May 2nd that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the energy company to purchase up to 1.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on SHEL. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Shell in a report on Friday, April 4th. 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 report on Monday, May 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Shell in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Shell from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of Shell in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.26.

Shell Company 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.