Shell Cost to Borrow Slides 13% in One Month

Shell plc shares rose 3.5% this week to 33.08p, rebounding from a month-long decline. Cost to borrow fell to 0.53%, down 13% in 30 days, while utilisation jumped to 2.33%—just shy of the 52-week high of 2.51% set on April 22.

Price action & positioning

SHEL closed at 33.075p on April 24, up 0.4% on the day. The stock gained 3.5% over the past week but remains down 4.4% month-to-date. The recent rebound follows a pullback from late March levels. Trading volume has been steady as the stock consolidates ahead of earnings.

Cost to borrow & utilisation

Cost to borrow stands at 0.53% as of April 23. That's down 9.9% from the prior week and 13.2% lower than a month ago. The 30-day history shows CTB peaked at 0.78% on March 27 before declining. Recent readings have ranged between 0.50% and 0.67%.

Utilisation tells a different story. At 2.33%, it sits near the 52-week high of 2.51% reached on April 22. The metric has climbed sharply since mid-April. On April 17, utilisation was 1.71%. By April 22, it hit the yearly peak. The 30-day low was 1.29% on April 13. This marks the highest utilisation level since late March, when it briefly touched 2.18%.

The divergence is notable. Cost to borrow is falling while utilisation is rising. That suggests supply of borrow has increased, easing rates even as more of the available float is on loan.

Analyst consensus

The mean price target is 42.28p as of data from September 2024. That implies upside from current levels. No recent analyst changes are available. The consensus data is 577 days old, predating multiple earnings events and the recent shift in oil markets.

Valuation

The P/E ratio sits at 9.09 as of April 24. That's down 2.81 points over the past 30 days. The compression reflects the stock's recent decline. EV/EBITDA is 4.51, down 0.63 from a month ago. The P/B ratio is 1.35, off 0.10 over 30 days. All three multiples have contracted as the share price fell.

Earnings yield stands at 0.11, up 0.026 points in the past month. The rise mirrors the P/E compression.

Factor positioning

Shell ranks in the 81st percentile for EPS surprise, indicating a history of beating estimates. The dividend score sits at the 70th percentile. EV/EBIT is in the 72nd percentile. Sector score is 71st percentile. Short score rank is 52nd percentile. Days to cover ranks 39th percentile, while utilisation ranks 61st.

Institutional positioning

FMR LLC added 17.3 million shares as of March 31, lifting its stake to 204.7 million shares (3.65% of shares outstanding). Geode Capital added 3.6 million shares, raising its position to 53.5 million. Strategic Advisers added 2.9 million shares, now holding 65.5 million. Dimensional Fund Advisors added 2.6 million.

Passive giants also grew positions. BlackRock added 708,000 shares to 452.2 million (8.05%). Vanguard added 641,000 shares to 310.9 million (5.54%). State Street added 849,500 shares to 99.8 million (1.78%).

Royal Dutch Shell's Shareview Clients trimmed 933,000 shares, reducing the position to 104.8 million (1.87%). Amundi added 161,800 shares to 74.1 million.

Dividend history

Shell announced a £0.2787 dividend on February 5, 2026, payable February 19. That's up from the €0.2499 dividend announced in July 2022. Earlier 2022 dividends were €0.2346 (May) and €0.2181 (February). The November 2021 dividend was €0.2121. The trajectory shows steady increases, though currency shifts between euro and sterling complicate direct comparisons.

What to watch

Shell reports earnings on May 7 at 06:00 UTC. The print will cover Q1 2026. Recent earnings dates were March 13 and March 12 (both announced in October 2025) and February 5 (announced February 4). With utilisation at a 52-week high and cost to borrow trending lower, the upcoming results will test whether the recent price weakness reflects fundamental concerns or short-term positioning.