AMSTERDAM: Royal Dutch Shell plc was downgraded by Zacks from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday, AnalystRatingsNetwork.com reports.
According to Zacks, “Predictably, the oil 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 asset sales in Nigeria 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 impending $70 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.”
RDS.A has been the topic of a number of other reports. Jefferies Group dropped their price objective on Royal Dutch Shell plc to $63.20 in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Cowen and Company dropped their target price on Royal Dutch Shell plc from $71.00 to $66.00 in a research report on Friday, September 11th. Macquarie initiated coverage on Royal Dutch Shell plc in a research note on Tuesday, September 22nd. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. HSBC raised Royal Dutch Shell plc from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Royal Dutch Shell plc in a research note on Monday, September 28th. They issued an “underperform” rating on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $64.20.
