ENI (NYSE:E) Downgraded by Zacks Research to Hold

Zacks Research cut shares of ENI (NYSE:E) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Zacks reports.

E has been the subject of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded ENI from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “buy” rating on shares of ENI in a report on Tuesday, September 8th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of ENI in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Grupo Santander upgraded shares of ENI to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lowered shares of ENI from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $56.30 price target for the company. in a report on Wednesday, October 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.45.

ENI Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE E opened at $57.70 on Tuesday. ENI has a 1-year low of $34.15 and a 1-year high of $58.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $55.08 and a 200-day moving average of $53.49. The firm has a market cap of $97.40 billion, a PE ratio of 14.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.22 and a beta of 0.44.

ENI (NYSE:E) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $1.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.10. ENI had a return on equity of 11.27% and a net margin of 6.51%. The company had revenue of $25.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $27.93 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that ENI will post 6.52 EPS for the current year.

ENI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 24th will be paid a $0.6335 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, November 24th. This is a boost from ENI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.6276. This represents a $2.53 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.4%. ENI’s payout ratio is 44.76%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in ENI by 111.2% in the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 659 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 347 shares during the period. CoreCap Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of ENI by 8,235.3% in the 3rd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,417 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $77,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares in the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of ENI in the 1st quarter worth approximately $85,000. EWA LLC bought a new position in shares of ENI in the 1st quarter worth approximately $202,000. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management purchased a new position in shares of ENI in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $203,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 1.18% of the company’s stock.

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.