ENI (NYSE:E) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of ENI (NYSE:E) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Tuesday.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley started coverage on ENI in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. They issued an equal weight rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised ENI from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded ENI from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of ENI from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy.

ENI Stock Performance

E opened at $32.71 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $31.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.43. ENI has a 1 year low of $28.82 and a 1 year high of $34.30. The stock has a market cap of $55.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.28 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

ENI (NYSE:E) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by ($0.14). ENI had a net margin of 4.21% and a return on equity of 11.84%. The firm had revenue of $24.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $25.74 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that ENI will post 4.16 earnings per share for the current year.

ENI Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 24th will be issued a $0.372 dividend. This represents a $1.49 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.55%. This is a boost from ENI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 24th. ENI’s payout ratio is presently 63.79%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its holdings in ENI by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 2,257,556 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $76,779,000 after acquiring an additional 377,642 shares during the last quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. increased its holdings in shares of ENI by 365.8% in the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 335,353 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $11,405,000 after purchasing an additional 263,362 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in ENI during the second quarter worth approximately $6,875,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in ENI during the second quarter worth $3,764,000. Finally, Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in ENI in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,079,000. 1.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About ENI

Eni S.p.A. operates as an integrated energy company worldwide. The company engages in exploration, development, extracting, manufacturing, and marketing crude oil and natural gas, oil-based fuels, chemical products, and gas-fired power, as well as energy products from renewable sources. It operates through Exploration & Production; Global Gas & LNG Portfolio (GGP); Enilive, Refining and Chemicals; Plenitude & Power; and Corporate and Other Activities segments.