Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) Shares Bought by Financial Counselors Inc.

Financial Counselors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) by 6.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,651 shares of the energy company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,563 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Shell were worth $1,544,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Foster Group Inc. raised its position in Shell by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 3,393 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $213,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Shell by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC now owns 3,268 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $205,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the last quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC grew its holdings in Shell by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 3,421 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $214,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. RHS Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Shell by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. RHS Financial LLC now owns 5,667 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Doliver Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Shell by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Doliver Advisors LP now owns 3,632 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. 28.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Shell Price Performance

Shares of SHEL opened at $73.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.35. Shell plc has a fifty-two week low of $60.15 and a fifty-two week high of $74.61. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.38. The company has a market capitalization of $221.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.47.

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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Shell plc will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Shell Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a $0.716 dividend. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from Shell’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. Shell’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on SHEL. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Shell in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $81.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Shell from $81.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group raised shares of Shell from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Shell from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $66.50 to $79.80 in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Shell from $82.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $80.10.

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.