Shell downgraded to Hold from Buy at HSBC

HSBC downgraded Shell (SHEL) to Hold from Buy with a price target of 2,950 GBp, up from 2,900 GBp. The firm says trading “normalization” in liquified natural gas and oil will weigh on Shell’s profits more than peers. The company’s net debt could rise by almost 50% towards $60B in the next few years as distributions are unfunded organically until the end of the decade, the analyst tells investors in a research note. HSBC believes Shell’s valuation premium versus Total is no longer justified.