01:41 AM EDT, 10/30/2026 (MT Newswires) -- RBC Capital Markets highlighted Shell's (SHEL.L, SHELL.AS) clearer communication regarding shareholder returns after the British oil and gas giant delivered "another strong quarter" that bolstered its "robust" balance sheet and supported a share buyback upgrade. "Following the tactical buyback cut with 1Q results, and some conflicting commentary around committing to its payout ratio with 2Q results, Shell has now cleaned up the commentary on distributions, highlighting that it expects shareholder returns to 'keep pace' with underlying cash flows, and that its 40-50% payout ratio guide on CFFO is through cycle and not for a given calendar year. More importantly, the business continues to perform well operationally and appears extremely well set up for the current environment. On top of this, the balance sheet continues to improve from already conservative levels. We incorporate $5bn buybacks per quarter for 4Q26 and 1H27," according to a Thursday note. Additionally, RBC sees scope for a 20% dividend-per-share hike alongside Shell's anticipated strategy update in early 2027, a move the research firm believes would strengthen the investment case and is now factored into its estimates. Speaking of estimates, analysts raised their earnings forecasts for full-year 2026 through 2028, including operating EPS projections, to account for RBC's latest commodity price deck. The research firm's price target on the sector perform-rated stock was also lifted to 41 pounds sterling from 40 pounds sterling.

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