Shell Shares Decline as Analysts Trim Price Targets After Q4 Earnings

Shell (LON: SHEL) shares fell more than 5% on Thursday after the company posted fourth-quarter results that analysts described as broadly steady but lacking clear catalysts for a re-rating.

However, with shares edging around 0.9% higher in Friday's session, the stock is still up 1.7% year to date and has gained 12.6% over the past 12 months.

Wells Fargo lowered its price target to $77 from $78 and kept an Equal Weight rating, saying Shell continued to return capital at a pace that exceeded organic free cash flow.

The bank noted that leverage sits at target levels and that Shell has sufficient liquidity to maintain buybacks, but said investors appear to be waiting for clearer visibility on future resource additions before reassessing the valuation.

Meanwhile, Piper Sandler reduced its price target for Shell to $89 from $93 while reiterating an Overweight stance.

The firm told investors in a ntoe that Shell’s fourth-quarter performance was mostly consistent with expectations, with the exception of temporary softness in the Marketing division.

However, it said the slight miss worsened existing market concerns around short-term balance sheet pressure linked to buybacks, as well as long-term questions about the depth of Shell’s upstream portfolio.