Vident Advisory LLC Acquires 7,734 Shares of Eni SpA $E

Key Points

• Vident Advisory LLC increased its stake in Eni SpA by 28.1%, owning 35,230 shares now valued at approximately $1,090,000.
• Eni SpA recently announced a semi-annual dividend of $0.5826, with a high dividend payout ratio of 98.77%.
• Analysts have downgraded Eni's stock rating, with Royal Bank of Canada initiating coverage at a "sector perform" rating, while Zacks and Kepler Capital Markets have both changed their ratings to "hold".

Vident Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Eni SpA (NYSE:E - Free Report) by 28.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,230 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,734 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC's holdings in ENI were worth $1,090,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of E. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of ENI by 21.9% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of ENI by 215.8% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 327,201 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $8,952,000 after acquiring an additional 223,597 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew 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 acquiring an additional 218,391 shares during the period. Cambiar Investors LLC grew its position in shares of ENI by 1,165.9% during the 1st quarter. Cambiar Investors LLC now owns 179,182 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $5,542,000 after acquiring an additional 165,027 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of ENI by 44.8% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 405,655 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $12,547,000 after buying an additional 125,413 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.18% of the company's stock.

ENI Stock Up 1.3%

E stock traded up $0.45 on Monday, hitting $34.63. 148,379 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 303,045. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $34.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.23. Eni SpA has a 12-month low of $24.65 and a 12-month high of $35.94. The stock has a market cap of $58.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.35 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.18.

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

ENI Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 25th will be paid a $0.5814 dividend. This represents a $2.33 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 25th. ENI's dividend payout ratio is currently 96.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of ENI in a report on Friday, July 11th. Zacks Research cut ENI from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 27th. Kepler Capital Markets downgraded ENI from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered shares of ENI from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $34.60 target price on ENI in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $34.60.

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.