Shell Restates and Reshuffles -- Once Again

But Shell's reputation has taken a much harder hit.

"Shell simply cannot allow this to happen again," the company acknowledged on Monday. "The controls we now have in place will be rigorously enforced and will be subject to far greater levels of scrutiny within Shell. Despite the difficulties of recent months, Shell is a sound and profitable business."

Still, analysts continue to stop short of recommending the company's shares. Merrill Lynch analyst Mark Iannotti on Monday did acknowledge that Shell has apparently made some progress in revamping its senior management team, which now includes a new chairman, production chief and two CFOs. But he still sees no compelling reason to endorse the stock even at currently depressed levels.

Neither does Irene Himona of Morgan Stanley. She points to poor performance in three areas -- production, operational controls and downstream business -- as reasons for her lack of enthusiasm.

Both Iannotti and Himona have taken a neutral stand on the company's shares. Even so, Himona sees the stock's slide as unlikely to steepen.

"The stock has underperformed the industry by -20% in the last 12 months, making it the worst performer," she stated. "We therefore believe there is valuation support at these levels, provided no further unpleasant surprises materialize."