AMSTERDAM: Royal Dutch Shell PLC. was downgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “buy” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.
According to Zacks, “Predictably, the commodity price slump has adversely affected Royal Dutch Shell’s earnings and cash flows, particularly at its upstream unit. Furthermore, lost reserves/production from the group’s assets in Nigeria amid militant attacks and heightened risk related to the company’s remaining operations in the country cannot be ignored either. We also expect Shell ADRs to remain soft due to its major natural gas focus and lofty capital spending. Moreover, the $50 billion BG acquisition is likely to put pressure on the company’s balance sheet. Considering these headwinds, we expect Shell to perform below the industry, which gives investors little reason to hold the stock.”
Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Deutsche Bank AG restated a “buy” rating on shares of Royal Dutch Shell PLC in a research note on Tuesday, November 15th. Citigroup Inc. restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Royal Dutch Shell PLC in a research note on Thursday, October 13th. BNP Paribas restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Royal Dutch Shell PLC in a research note on Tuesday, October 11th. J P Morgan Chase & Co upgraded Royal Dutch Shell PLC from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 2nd. Finally, Howard Weil downgraded Royal Dutch Shell PLC to a “sector perform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $53.00 to $56.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. The company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $59.42.
