Eni S.p.A. (NYSE:E) Given Average Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Eni S.p.A. (NYSE:E - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Hold" from the nine research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $31.60.

Several analysts recently weighed in on E shares. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $31.60 target price (down previously from $37.50) on shares of ENI in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. UBS Group cut shares of ENI from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Redburn Atlantic lowered ENI from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. StockNews.com downgraded ENI from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of ENI in a report on Friday, April 25th.

Institutional Trading of ENI

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in E. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of ENI in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $14,233,000. Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its stake in ENI by 1,885.2% during 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. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in ENI by 215.8% during 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 last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in ENI by 42.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 734,368 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $20,092,000 after purchasing an additional 218,391 shares during the period. Finally, OLD Mission Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of ENI in the fourth quarter valued at about $4,882,000. 1.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ENI Stock Up 0.1 %

E stock traded up $0.04 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $28.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 248,560 shares, compared to its average volume of 318,511. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $28.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $28.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.23, 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 has a 52-week low of $24.65 and a 52-week high of $33.12.

ENI (NYSE:E - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $25.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.52 billion. ENI had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 2.76%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that ENI will post 3.74 EPS for the current year.

ENI Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a -- dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be given a dividend of $0.5391 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a dividend yield of 5.5%. This is a boost from ENI's previous -- dividend of $0.35. ENI's payout ratio is 89.82%.

About ENI

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.