Eni SpA (NYSE:E) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Eni SpA (NYSE:E) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $42.30.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on E shares. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of ENI to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on ENI from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded ENI from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $64.30 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of ENI from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 28th. Finally, Rothschild & Co Redburn raised shares of ENI from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th.

ENI Price Performance

Shares of E opened at $55.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market cap of $93.65 billion, a PE ratio of 31.89, a PEG ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $53.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $44.24. ENI has a twelve month low of $28.78 and a twelve month high of $58.00.

ENI (NYSE:E) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.79 EPS for the quarter. ENI had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 9.21%. As a group, research analysts expect that ENI will post 6.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ENI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 19th will be given a dividend of $0.6313 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $2.53 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. This is a boost from ENI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. ENI’s payout ratio is presently 95.40%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ENI by 2.0% during the first quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 11,071 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $627,000 after buying an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of ENI by 1.2% in the first quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC now owns 21,356 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $1,209,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC increased its position in ENI by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 11,882 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $451,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in ENI by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 5,904 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $206,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its stake in ENI by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 6,256 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. 1.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About ENI

ENI S.p.A. is an integrated energy company headquartered in Rome, Italy, founded in 1953 as a state-established hydrocarbon entity and later transformed into a publicly traded multinational. The firm’s activities span the full hydrocarbon value chain and extend into power generation and low?carbon energy solutions. ENI maintains a long history in exploration and production, engineering and project development, and downstream operations that include refining, petrochemicals and retail fuel distribution.

Core businesses include upstream exploration and production of oil and natural gas, midstream and liquefied natural gas (LNG) handling, and downstream refining and marketing of petroleum products and lubricants.