ENI (NYSE:E) Rating Lowered to Hold at Stifel Nicolaus

Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of ENI (NYSE:E) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Friday, MarketBeat reports.

E has been the topic of several other reports. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of ENI in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. They set an equal weight rating on the stock. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of ENI from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of ENI from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy.

ENI Price Performance

E stock opened at $30.57 on Friday. ENI has a 12 month low of $28.82 and a 12 month high of $34.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $30.84 and a 200-day moving average of $31.55.

ENI (NYSE:E) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.22 by ($0.18). ENI had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 12.57%. The company had revenue of $25.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.83 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that ENI will post 4.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

ENI Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 24th will be paid a $0.372 dividend. This represents a $1.49 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.87%. This is an increase from ENI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 24th. ENI’s payout ratio is presently 60.34%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in ENI by 14.6% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 493,470 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $16,783,000 after purchasing an additional 62,964 shares during the period. Capital Wealth Planning LLC increased its position in ENI by 156.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 51,136 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $1,739,000 after purchasing an additional 31,229 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of ENI by 25.1% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 174,445 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $5,933,000 after buying an additional 34,998 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey Wright & Associates bought a new stake in shares of ENI during the 4th quarter valued at $2,143,000. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of ENI by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 29,077 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $989,000 after buying an additional 2,528 shares in the last quarter. 1.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.