Versant Capital Management Inc Grows Position in Eni S.p.A. (NYSE:E)

Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Eni S.p.A. (NYSE:E - Free Report) by 23,744.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,253 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock after purchasing an additional 10,210 shares during the quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc's holdings in ENI were worth $317,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of ENI by 30.5% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 2,488 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 581 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in ENI by 93.4% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,449 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 2,149 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its position in shares of ENI by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 7,341 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $201,000 after buying an additional 484 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of ENI by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 8,360 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock valued at $227,000 after buying an additional 1,096 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in ENI by 19.1% during the 4th quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 8,992 shares of the oil and gas exploration company's stock worth $246,000 after purchasing an additional 1,439 shares in the last quarter. 1.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ENI Price Performance

Shares of ENI stock traded down $0.06 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $30.15. 121,681 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 306,696. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market cap of $50.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.05, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.89. The firm's fifty day moving average is $28.73 and its 200-day moving average is $28.67. Eni S.p.A. has a 52 week low of $24.65 and a 52 week high of $33.12.

ENI (NYSE:E - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.91 by $0.01. ENI had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 2.76%. The business had revenue of $25.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $25.52 billion. Research analysts expect that Eni S.p.A. will post 3.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ENI Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a -- dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be issued a $0.5391 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th. This represents a yield of 5.5%. This is a boost from ENI's previous -- dividend of $0.35. ENI's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on E shares. Redburn Atlantic cut ENI from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Kepler Capital Markets cut ENI from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of ENI in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut ENI from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average 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.