ENI (NYSE:E) Downgraded to "Hold" Rating by Kepler Capital Markets

Kepler Capital Markets downgraded shares of ENI (NYSE:E - Free Report) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, May 20th,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on E. Wall Street Zen cut ENI from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of ENI in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic lowered ENI from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $31.60.

ENI Trading Up 1.6%

E traded up $0.48 on Tuesday, hitting $29.58. The company had a trading volume of 128,314 shares, compared to its average volume of 308,944. ENI has a 12-month low of $24.65 and a 12-month high of $33.12. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $28.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.65. The company has a market cap of $49.92 billion, a PE ratio of 17.71, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41.

ENI (NYSE:E - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $25.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $25.52 billion. ENI had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 2.76%. Equities research analysts expect that ENI will post 3.74 EPS for the current year.

ENI Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a -- dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be paid a $0.5391 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a dividend yield of 5.5%. This is a positive change from ENI's previous -- dividend of $0.35. ENI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 89.82%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in E. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in ENI by 277.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 30,974 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $939,000 after purchasing an additional 22,768 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in ENI by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 33,464 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $916,000 after purchasing an additional 3,877 shares during the period. Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its stake in ENI by 1,885.2% in the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 273,042 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $7,470,000 after purchasing an additional 259,288 shares during the period. Brandes Investment Partners LP boosted its stake in ENI by 13.1% in the 4th quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 606,769 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $16,601,000 after purchasing an additional 70,507 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in ENI by 215.8% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 327,201 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $8,952,000 after purchasing an additional 223,597 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.18% of the company's stock.

ENI Company Profile

Eni SpA engages in the exploration, production, refining, and sale of oil, gas, electricity, and chemicals. It operates through the following segments: Exploration and Production, Global Gas and LNG Portfolio, Refining & Marketing and Chemicals, Power & Renewables, and Corporate and Other Activities.