Traders Buy High Volume of Shell Call Options (NYSE:SHEL)

Shell plc (NYSE:SHEL) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Friday. Stock investors acquired 20,796 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 148% compared to the average volume of 8,370 call options.

Shell Price Performance

SHEL stock traded up $1.02 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $68.76. 2,614,884 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,940,427. The company has a current ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Shell has a one year low of $60.15 and a one year high of $74.61. The company has a market cap of $209.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $66.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.32.

Shell (NYSE:SHEL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 30th. The energy company reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by ($0.54). Shell had a return on equity of 12.75% and a net margin of 5.57%. Equities analysts forecast that Shell will post 7.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Shell Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.716 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from Shell’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.69. This represents a $2.86 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.17%. Shell’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on SHEL. UBS Group raised Shell from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Shell from $82.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wolfe Research raised Shell from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised Shell from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $66.50 to $79.80 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Shell from $86.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $79.11.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Shell

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in shares of Shell by 930.2% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 443 shares of the energy company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Shell during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Human Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Shell during the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Shell during the 3rd quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in shares of Shell in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 28.60% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.