Eni SpA $E Holdings Increased by American Century Companies Inc.

Key Points

• American Century Companies Inc. has increased its stake in Eni SpA by 9.8%, now owning approximately 426,566 shares valued at $13.19 million.
• Eni recently reported an EPS of $0.79 for its latest quarter, surpassing analyst expectations of $0.67, but fell short on revenue with $22.08 billion compared to $23.54 billion expected.
• The company declared a semi-annual dividend of $0.5826 per share, representing a 440.0% yield, with a high dividend payout ratio of 98.77%.

American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Eni SpA (NYSE:E - Free Report) by 9.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 426,566 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock after acquiring an additional 37,988 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.'s holdings in ENI were worth $13,194,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of E. GQG Partners LLC lifted its stake in ENI by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 108,566 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $3,358,000 after buying an additional 1,696 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in ENI by 34.1% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 9,606 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 2,441 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC purchased a new position in ENI in the 1st quarter valued at about $281,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in ENI by 69.7% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 89,941 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $2,782,000 after buying an additional 36,933 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its stake in ENI by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 29,069 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $899,000 after buying an additional 1,019 shares in the last quarter. 1.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ENI Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of E stock traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $35.83. The company's stock had a trading volume of 186,278 shares, compared to its average volume of 218,197. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $33.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.01. Eni SpA has a 12-month low of $24.65 and a 12-month high of $35.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $60.47 billion, a PE ratio of 22.11 and a beta of 0.95.

ENI (NYSE:E - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $22.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.54 billion. ENI had a net margin of 2.84% and a return on equity of 8.53%. On average, research analysts predict that Eni SpA will post 3.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ENI Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 23rd will be issued a $0.5826 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 23rd. This represents a dividend yield of 440.0%. ENI's payout ratio is 96.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on E shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of ENI from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of ENI in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets lowered shares of ENI from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $31.60.

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.