ENI (NYSE:E) Shares Gap Up – Here’s Why

Eni SpA (NYSE:E) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $52.99, but opened at $54.13. ENI shares last traded at $55.0760, with a volume of 236,088 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

E has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of ENI in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of ENI from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 28th. Erste Group Bank upgraded ENI to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised ENI from an “underweight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of ENI in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $34.60.

ENI Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $93.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.55 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $43.48 and a 200 day moving average of $38.90.

ENI (NYSE:E) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.78 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $24.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.45 billion. ENI had a return on equity of 9.27% and a net margin of 3.07%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Eni SpA will post 3.74 EPS for the current year.

ENI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 24th will be given a $0.6137 dividend. This is an increase from ENI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $2.45 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 24th. ENI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 98.24%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ENI

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. DV Equities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ENI during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. MAI Capital Management grew its holdings in shares of ENI by 2,488.4% in the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,113 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 1,070 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of ENI by 56.8% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,206 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in ENI during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in ENI by 37.5% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,387 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 378 shares in the last quarter. 1.18% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.