Eni S.p.A. Declares — Dividend of $0.35 (NYSE:E)

Eni S.p.A. (NYSE:E) declared a — dividend on Wednesday, March 5th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of 0.3549 per share by the oil and gas exploration company on Monday, April 7th. This represents a dividend yield of 5.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 25th.

ENI has raised its dividend payment by an average of 9.8% annually over the last three years. ENI has a payout ratio of 53.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect ENI to earn $3.78 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.10 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 55.6%.

ENI Price Performance

E stock traded up $0.48 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $28.59. 276,731 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 275,510. The company has a market cap of $48.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.90. ENI has a 12-month low of $26.12 and a 12-month high of $33.78. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $28.44 and its 200 day moving average is $29.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.07.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $31.60 target price (down previously from $37.50) on shares of ENI in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group lowered ENI from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded ENI from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, ENI presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.60.

ENI Company Profile

Eni SpA engages in the exploration, production, refining, and sale of oil, gas, electricity, and chemicals. It operates through the following segments: Exploration and Production, Global Gas and LNG Portfolio, Refining & Marketing and Chemicals, Power & Renewables, and Corporate and Other Activities.