Shell Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:SHEL)

Shell PLC Unsponsored ADR (NYSE:SHEL) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock traders acquired 20,832 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 100% compared to the typical daily volume of 10,417 call options.

Shell Stock Performance

Shell stock opened at $72.34 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $66.97 and a 200-day moving average of $66.30. The firm has a market cap of $215.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.39. Shell has a 1-year low of $58.55 and a 1-year high of $74.46.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 2nd. The energy company reported $1.84 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.54 by $0.30. Shell had a net margin of 4.75% and a return on equity of 11.71%. The business had revenue of $69.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.18 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.40 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Shell will post 7.67 EPS for the current year.

Shell announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Friday, May 2nd that permits the company to buyback $3.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the energy company to reacquire up to 1.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Shell Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.86 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. Shell’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 65.90%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Shell

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Shell by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 86,417,177 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $5,414,036,000 after acquiring an additional 21,118,234 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC lifted its stake in Shell by 42,743.3% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 2,867,929 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $210,162,000 after purchasing an additional 2,861,235 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Shell in the 1st quarter worth $180,366,000. Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Shell by 170.3% in the 4th quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 3,463,372 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $216,980,000 after purchasing an additional 2,182,253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Shell by 102.6% during the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 2,965,812 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $217,335,000 after buying an additional 1,501,866 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 28.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SHEL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Hsbc Global Res raised Shell to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. 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 report on Monday, May 5th. TD Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Shell in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Shell in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Finally, Barclays restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Shell in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Shell has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target 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.