Eni SpA (NYSE:E) Stock Now Rated “Moderate Buy” by Wall Street Brokerages

Eni SpA (NYSE:E) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eighteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $58.45.

Several research analysts have commented on the company. BNP Paribas Exane downgraded ENI from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $56.30 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of ENI in a research note on Friday, September 11th. Grupo Santander raised ENI to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. HSBC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of ENI in a report on Friday, September 25th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of ENI from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday.

ENI Stock Performance

ENI stock opened at $56.73 on Tuesday. ENI has a 1-year low of $34.03 and a 1-year high of $58.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.22 and a beta of 0.44. The company’s 50-day moving average is $54.90 and its 200 day moving average is $53.44.

ENI (NYSE:E) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $25.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.93 billion. ENI had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 6.51%. Research analysts forecast that ENI will post 6.41 EPS for the current year.

ENI Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.6335 per share. This represents a $2.53 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.5%. This is a positive change from ENI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.6276. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 24th. ENI’s dividend payout ratio is 42.97%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of ENI by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 12,011 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $680,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in ENI by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,401 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $419,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its position in 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 in the last quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of ENI by 1.2% during the 1st 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 period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in ENI by 111.2% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 659 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 1.18% of the company’s stock.

ENI Company Profile

Eni S.p.A. is an Italian integrated energy company headquartered in Rome. Established in 1953, the company operates across the energy value chain, with activities spanning oil and natural gas exploration and production, natural gas and liquefied natural gas, refining, chemicals, power generation and energy retail.

Eni explores for and produces hydrocarbons in multiple regions, including Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Americas. Its downstream businesses include fuel refining and marketing, petrochemicals through Versalis, and natural gas and electricity sales.