Northern Trust Corp Buys 66,784 Shares of Eni SpA $E

Key Points

• Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in Eni SpA by 9.1% during the first quarter, bringing its total holdings to 801,152 shares valued at approximately $24.78 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Golden State Wealth Management LLC and Gallacher Capital Management LLC, also boosted their positions in Eni during the same period.
• Research analysts have revised Eni's rating from "strong-buy" to "hold," with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.60.

Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Eni SpA (NYSE:E - Free Report) by 9.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 801,152 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock after buying an additional 66,784 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp's holdings in ENI were worth $24,780,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of E. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of ENI by 9.8% in the first 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. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in ENI by 69.7% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 89,941 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $2,782,000 after purchasing an additional 36,933 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $16,425,000 after acquiring an additional 10,803 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ENI by 76.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,376 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 1,467 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $8,952,000 after acquiring an additional 223,597 shares during the period. 1.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ENI Stock Performance

NYSE:E traded down $0.62 during trading on Friday, reaching $34.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 148,171 shares, compared to its average volume of 302,956. Eni SpA has a 12 month low of $24.65 and a 12 month high of $35.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.18. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $34.15 and a 200-day moving average of $31.17. The firm has a market cap of $57.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.13 and a beta of 0.96.

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

ENI Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 7th. Shareholders 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 yield of 440.0%. ENI's dividend payout ratio is currently 96.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.