Shell (NYSE:SHEL) Upgraded at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Shell (NYSE:SHEL) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a report released on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat reports. They currently have $79.80 price objective on the energy company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $66.50.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Shell from $82.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Shell from $88.00 to $87.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays upgraded Shell to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Scotiabank decreased their price target on shares of Shell from $90.00 to $80.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Shell to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $79.83.

Shell Stock Performance

Shares of SHEL opened at $64.68 on Tuesday. Shell has a 12-month low of $60.15 and a 12-month high of $74.61. The stock has a market cap of $199.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.31, a PEG ratio of 4.84 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a 50-day moving average of $64.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.12.

Shell Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.688 dividend. This represents a $2.75 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. Shell’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.58%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Shell

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. First Hawaiian Bank raised its position in Shell by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 37,500 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $2,349,000 after purchasing an additional 2,321 shares during the period. InvesTrust purchased a new stake in shares of Shell during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,965,000. Doliver Advisors LP lifted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its position in Shell by 28.0% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 18,133 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $1,136,000 after acquiring an additional 3,970 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Old Port Advisors raised its stake in shares of Shell by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 4,149 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $260,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 28.60% of the company’s stock.

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.