Oil major
Shell
posted solid third-quarter results, increasing profits and launching a new share buyback program. The stock is advancing.
U.K.-based Shell (ticker: SHEL) reported earnings of $6.2 billion, up from $5.1 billion in the second quarter. It also said it would buy back $3.5 billion of shares in the fourth quarter after purchasing $2.5 billion of the stock in the three months through September.
Oil and gas companies are coming off a record year for profits in 2022, when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine pushed up crude prices. Oil costs are well below those highs now, but producers are still highly profitable.
Shell managed to increase production from the second quarter and guided for another increase in output in the last three months of the year.
Rival
BP
(BP) also reported relatively strong earnings earlier this week, but they disappointed investors. BP shares are down 1% over the past three months, while Shell’s have gained 15%. Among analysts surveyed by FactSet, 18 have Buy ratings for Shell and four rate it Hold.
Shell stock rose 1% in early London trading Thursday. Its American depositary receipts gained 1.6% in premarket trading.
Write to Brian Swint at [email protected]
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