Brokerages Set Eni SpA (NYSE:E) Price Target at $34.60

Shares of Eni SpA (NYSE:E) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $34.60.

E has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of ENI from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. Erste Group Bank upgraded ENI to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of ENI in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of ENI in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of ENI in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ENI

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of ENI by 6.6% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 3,113,710 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $108,824,000 after acquiring an additional 192,646 shares during the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC grew its position in ENI by 109.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 306,408 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $11,962,000 after purchasing an additional 160,324 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in ENI by 33.2% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 636,891 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $22,259,000 after acquiring an additional 158,699 shares during the period. Trek Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ENI during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,128,000. Finally, Arosa Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in ENI during the fourth quarter valued at $4,173,000. 1.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

ENI Trading Down 2.2%

E stock opened at $52.23 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $88.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.72 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.45. ENI has a 1-year low of $24.65 and a 1-year high of $55.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 1.02.

ENI (NYSE:E) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.78 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $24.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.45 billion. ENI had a net margin of 3.07% and a return on equity of 9.27%. Research analysts anticipate that ENI will post 3.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

ENI Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 24th will be paid a $0.6137 dividend. This represents a $2.45 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. This is a boost from ENI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 24th. ENI’s payout ratio is presently 98.24%.

About ENI

ENI S.p.A. is an integrated energy company headquartered in Rome, Italy, founded in 1953 as a state-established hydrocarbon entity and later transformed into a publicly traded multinational. The firm’s activities span the full hydrocarbon value chain and extend into power generation and low‑carbon energy solutions. ENI maintains a long history in exploration and production, engineering and project development, and downstream operations that include refining, petrochemicals and retail fuel distribution.

Core businesses include upstream exploration and production of oil and natural gas, midstream and liquefied natural gas (LNG) handling, and downstream refining and marketing of petroleum products and lubricants.