Eni S.p.A. (NYSE:E) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Eni S.p.A. (NYSE:E - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in May. As of May 15th, there was short interest totalling 816,100 shares, an increase of 42.8% from the April 30th total of 571,300 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 351,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.3 days. Approximately 0.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on E shares. Redburn Atlantic cut ENI from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Kepler Capital Markets cut ENI from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wall Street Zen cut ENI from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating on shares of ENI in a report on Friday, April 25th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $31.60.

ENI Stock Performance

ENI stock traded up $0.19 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $30.29. The company had a trading volume of 308,615 shares, compared to its average volume of 304,870. The firm has a market cap of $51.13 billion, a PE ratio of 18.14, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 1.27 and a quick ratio of 1.07. ENI has a one year low of $24.65 and a one year high of $33.12. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $28.70 and a 200 day moving average of $28.68.

ENI (NYSE:E - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.92 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 net margin of 2.76% and a return on equity of 11.03%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that ENI will post 3.74 earnings per share for the current year.

ENI Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of ENI

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of ENI by 21.9% during the first quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 2,779,073 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $85,957,000 after purchasing an additional 500,039 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of ENI by 9.1% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 801,152 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $24,780,000 after acquiring an additional 66,784 shares in the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP increased its position in shares of ENI by 13.1% during the fourth quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 606,769 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $16,601,000 after acquiring an additional 70,507 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of ENI by 2.1% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 531,030 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $16,425,000 after acquiring an additional 10,803 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in ENI by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 426,566 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $13,194,000 after purchasing an additional 37,988 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.