ENI (NYSE:E) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com cut shares of ENI (NYSE:E) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Monday.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on E. Redburn Atlantic upgraded ENI from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of ENI from a sector perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered shares of ENI from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of ENI in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. They issued an equal weight rating for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold.

ENI Stock Performance

Shares of ENI stock opened at $31.71 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $30.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.67, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. ENI has a 52 week low of $28.82 and a 52 week high of $34.30.

ENI (NYSE:E) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 26th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $24.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.74 billion. ENI had a return on equity of 11.84% and a net margin of 4.21%. Sell-side analysts expect that ENI will post 4.16 EPS for the current year.

ENI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 24th will be paid a dividend of $0.372 per share. This represents a $1.49 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 24th. This is a boost from ENI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. ENI’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.79%.

Institutional Trading of ENI

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of E. Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its holdings in ENI by 20.1% in the fourth 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. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in shares of ENI by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 500,182 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $15,401,000 after purchasing an additional 4,882 shares during the period. Optiver Holding B.V. increased its position in shares of ENI by 365.8% during the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 335,353 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $11,405,000 after purchasing an additional 263,362 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in ENI by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 333,308 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $10,263,000 after buying an additional 22,695 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in ENI in the second quarter valued at about $6,875,000. 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.