Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires 10,803 Shares of Eni SpA $E

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. increased its stake in Eni SpA by 2.1% during the first quarter, now owning 531,030 shares valued at approximately $16.4 million.
• Several hedge funds have shown interest in Eni, with Northern Trust Corp's stake growing by 42.3% and Jane Street Group LLC increasing theirs by an impressive 336.7% in the fourth quarter.
• Eni recently reported earnings of $0.79 per share for the most recent quarter, exceeding expectations, and announced a semi-annual dividend of $0.5826 with a high payout ratio of 98.77%.

Raymond James Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Eni SpA (NYSE:E - Free Report) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 531,030 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,803 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc.'s holdings in ENI were worth $16,425,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its stake in 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 worth $85,957,000 after purchasing an additional 500,039 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of ENI by 42.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 734,368 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $20,092,000 after acquiring an additional 218,391 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of ENI by 9.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 37,988 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in ENI by 44.8% in the first 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 acquiring an additional 125,413 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its position in 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 valued at $8,952,000 after purchasing an additional 223,597 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 1.18% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of ENI in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Kepler Capital Markets lowered ENI from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded ENI from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.60.

ENI Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of E traded up $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $35.83. 186,278 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 218,177. The company has a current ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.02. Eni SpA has a 52 week low of $24.65 and a 52 week high of $35.94. The company has a market cap of $60.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.11 and a beta of 0.96.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.67 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $22.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.54 billion. ENI had a return on equity of 8.53% and a net margin of 2.84%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Eni SpA will post 3.74 EPS for the current year.

ENI Cuts Dividend

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

ENI 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.