ENI (NYSE:E) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Eni SpA (NYSE:E) reached a new 52-week high on Friday. The stock traded as high as $58.26 and last traded at $58.3130, with a volume of 2,848 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $57.44.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

E has been the subject of several research reports. HSBC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of ENI in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Zacks Research cut shares of ENI from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of ENI in a research report on Sunday, September 13th. Grupo Santander raised shares of ENI to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of ENI from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, ENI presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.45.

ENI Stock Up 1.5%

The stock has a market capitalization of $98.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.22 and a beta of 0.44. The business has a 50-day moving average of $55.14 and a 200-day moving average of $53.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.23.

ENI (NYSE:E) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.66 by $0.10. ENI had a net margin of 6.51% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The firm had revenue of $25.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.93 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Eni SpA will post 6.52 EPS for the current year.

ENI Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.6335 per share. This is a positive change from ENI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.6276. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 24th. This represents a $2.53 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.3%. ENI’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 42.97%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ENI

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. B.A. Schrock Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in ENI in the third quarter valued at approximately $206,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of ENI by 9.7% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 10,495 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $570,000 after purchasing an additional 932 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of ENI by 8,235.3% in the third quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,417 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $77,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Plan A Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in ENI by 33.1% during the third quarter. Plan A Wealth LLC now owns 5,992 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 1,491 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in ENI by 8.4% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 144,171 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $6,756,000 after buying an additional 11,136 shares during the period. 1.18% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ENI Company Profile

Eni S.p.A. is an Italian integrated energy company headquartered in Rome. Established in 1953, the company operates across the energy value chain, with activities spanning oil and natural gas exploration and production, natural gas and liquefied natural gas, refining, chemicals, power generation and energy retail.

Eni explores for and produces hydrocarbons in multiple regions, including Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Americas. Its downstream businesses include fuel refining and marketing, petrochemicals through Versalis, and natural gas and electricity sales.