Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Shell (NYSE:SHEL) Price Target to $77.00

Shell (NYSE:SHEL) had its price objective trimmed by Wells Fargo & Company from $78.00 to $77.00 in a research note published on Friday morning, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the energy company’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Scotiabank reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Shell in a report on Thursday, October 9th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Shell in a report on Friday, October 31st. UBS Group cut shares of Shell from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Bank of America cut Shell from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Shell from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and eleven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Shell presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $81.33.

Shell Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE SHEL opened at $75.34 on Friday. Shell has a 1 year low of $58.54 and a 1 year high of $79.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.30 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The company has a market capitalization of $216.62 billion, a PE ratio of 12.56, a P/E/G ratio of 5.58 and a beta of 0.16. The company has a fifty day moving average of $73.61 and a 200 day moving average of $73.29.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The energy company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.21 by ($0.07). Shell had a net margin of 6.52% and a return on equity of 10.34%. The company had revenue of $64.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $65.82 billion. Research analysts forecast that Shell will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Shell

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Shell by 51.7% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,463 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $468,000 after buying an additional 2,545 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. grew its position in Shell by 10.9% in the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 34,262 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,412,000 after acquiring an additional 3,361 shares during the period. Allied Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Shell by 3.5% in the third quarter. Allied Investment Advisors LLC now owns 191,732 shares of the energy company’s stock valued at $13,715,000 after purchasing an additional 6,546 shares during the period. Alteri Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Shell in the 2nd quarter valued at $258,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its position in shares of Shell by 21.6% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 31,765 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $2,236,000 after purchasing an additional 5,637 shares during the last quarter. 28.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting Shell

Here are the key news stories impacting Shell this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company announced a $3.5 billion share buyback programme and increased the interim dividend by 4% — supportive for EPS/return metrics and shareholder returns. Share Buyback Announcement
• Positive Sentiment: An analyst at Seeking Alpha upgraded SHEL from “Sell” to “Hold,” noting that although 2025 results disappointed, external market factors (oil/LNG tailwinds) could improve prospects next year. SA Rating Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Unusual options activity: traders bought a sizable block of call options (14,321 contracts), suggesting speculative or hedged bullish interest in the stock intraday.
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo trimmed its price target slightly to $77 and kept an “equal weight” rating — a modest tweak rather than a dramatic reassessment. Wells Fargo Note
• Neutral Sentiment: Shell selected PwC as its next external auditor (replacing EY) after a tender process — a governance/operational change that is unlikely to move fundamentals immediately. Auditor Appointment
• Neutral Sentiment: Management is exploring multibillion-dollar offshore gas opportunities in Venezuela — a potential long-term growth avenue but currently exploratory. Venezuela Investment Comments
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 results missed expectations: adjusted earnings fell short and revenue missed consensus amid lower oil prices and tax impacts — reported as Shell’s weakest quarterly profit since 2021, which is the primary negative catalyst. Q4 Results / Profit Miss
• Negative Sentiment: RBC downgraded Shell to “Sector Perform” and cut its price target after a soft trading update and what it called a “double miss” on earnings — selling pressure risk from institutional re-rating. RBC Downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Shell will pause new investments in Kazakhstan amid legal/arbitration disputes — a setback to growth/production visibility in that region. Kazakhstan Pause
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and commentators flag renewables/green-hydrogen investments as a near-term drag and potential source of write-down risk if projects underperform — a structural risk to margins and capital allocation. SA Note on Renewables Risk

Shell Company Profile

Shell plc (NYSE: SHEL) is a global integrated energy company that operates across the full oil and gas value chain as well as in developing lower-carbon energy solutions. The company traces its roots to the early 20th century merger of Royal Dutch Petroleum and Shell Transport and Trading, and today it is organized to explore for and produce hydrocarbons, process and refine them, manufacture petrochemicals, and market fuel, lubricants and related products under the Shell brand around the world.

Shell’s principal activities include upstream exploration and production of oil and natural gas, integrated gas operations including liquefied natural gas (LNG), and downstream refining, supply and marketing.