ENI (NYSE:E) Shares Gap Down - What's Next?

Key Points

• ENI gapped down pre-market, opening at $52.09 after a $55.39 close and last trading near $51.21 on roughly 179,800 shares, signaling a sharp intraday move.
• Analyst action is mixed but tilted positive—multiple upgrades (Jefferies, Zacks, Erste, BNP Paribas) leave a MarketBeat consensus of Moderate Buy with an average price target of $42.30, which remains below the stock's recent levels.
• ENI raised its quarterly dividend to $0.6137 (annualized $2.45), implying a 4.8% yield and a high payout ratio of 97.65%.

Eni SpA (NYSE:E - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $55.39, but opened at $52.09. ENI shares last traded at $51.2120, with a volume of 179,799 shares trading hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of ENI in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of ENI from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on ENI from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Erste Group Bank raised ENI to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upgraded ENI from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $64.30 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $42.30.

ENI Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $87.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.26 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.19 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The firm's 50-day moving average is $50.12 and its 200-day moving average is $41.83.

ENI (NYSE:E - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Saturday, February 14th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter. ENI had a net margin of 3.07% and a return on equity of 9.27%. The business had revenue of $24.64 billion for the quarter. Analysts predict that Eni SpA will post 3.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ENI Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 24th were paid a $0.6137 dividend. This represents a $2.45 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. This is an increase from ENI's previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 24th. ENI's dividend payout ratio is 97.65%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ENI

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in ENI by 2.1% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 69,243 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $2,141,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of ENI by 3.4% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 15,260 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $472,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of ENI by 8.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 11,232 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $364,000 after purchasing an additional 870 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of ENI by 60.7% during the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 45,348 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $1,470,000 after purchasing an additional 17,133 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of ENI by 60.7% in the second quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 15,437 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $500,000 after acquiring an additional 5,831 shares in the last quarter. 1.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ENI Company Profile

ENI S.p.A. is an integrated energy company headquartered in Rome, Italy, founded in 1953 as a state-established hydrocarbon entity and later transformed into a publicly traded multinational. The firm's activities span the full hydrocarbon value chain and extend into power generation and low‑carbon energy solutions. ENI maintains a long history in exploration and production, engineering and project development, and downstream operations that include refining, petrochemicals and retail fuel distribution.

Core businesses include upstream exploration and production of oil and natural gas, midstream and liquefied natural gas (LNG) handling, and downstream refining and marketing of petroleum products and lubricants.

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