The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Increases Stake in Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,646 shares of the energy company’s stock after buying an additional 223 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Shell were worth $918,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Shell during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in 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 during the last quarter. Human Investing LLC purchased a new stake in Shell during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Transce3nd LLC purchased a new stake in Shell during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in Shell during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.60% of the company’s stock.

Shell Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE:SHEL opened at $67.14 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $201.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.37, a PEG ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.38. 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 simple moving average is $66.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.86. Shell plc has a 12-month low of $58.55 and a 12-month high of $74.46.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL) last released its earnings results on Friday, May 2nd. The energy company reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $69.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.18 billion. Shell had a return on equity of 12.75% and a net margin of 5.57%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.40 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Shell plc will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Shell declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Friday, May 2nd that allows the company to repurchase $3.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the energy company to buy up to 1.8% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Shell Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be issued a $0.716 dividend. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Shell’s payout ratio is currently 65.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on SHEL shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Shell from $83.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Shell in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Shell from $75.00 to $70.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Shell in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Shell from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $78.35.

Shell 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.