Eni S.p.A. (NYSE:E) Announces Dividend Increase - $0.54 Per Share

Eni S.p.A. (NYSE:E - Get Free Report) announced a -- dividend on Monday, April 14th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be given a dividend of 0.5391 per share by the oil and gas exploration company on Monday, June 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. This is a 51.9% increase from ENI's previous -- dividend of $0.35.

ENI has raised its dividend payment by an average of 9.8% per year over the last three years. ENI has a dividend payout ratio of 57.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect ENI to earn $3.78 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.16 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 57.1%.

ENI Trading Up 1.0 %

E stock traded up $0.28 on Friday, hitting $27.76. 422,811 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 313,853. The business's fifty day moving average is $29.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $28.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.73. 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 twelve month low of $24.65 and a twelve month high of $33.30.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on E. UBS Group downgraded shares of ENI from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com lowered ENI from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $31.60 price objective (down previously from $37.50) on shares of ENI in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $31.60.

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.