Brokerages Set Eni SpA (NYSE:E) Price Target at $46.15

Eni SpA (NYSE:E) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, six have given a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $46.15.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on E shares. Zacks Research upgraded ENI from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded ENI from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings lowered ENI from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut ENI from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 25th.

ENI Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of E opened at $55.38 on Friday. ENI has a 52 week low of $34.03 and a 52 week high of $58.00. The firm has a market cap of $93.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.38. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $53.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $52.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.23.

ENI (NYSE:E) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.66 by $0.10. ENI had a net margin of 6.51% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The firm had revenue of $25.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.93 billion. On average, analysts forecast that ENI will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current year.

ENI Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 22nd will be given a $0.6276 dividend. This represents a $2.51 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 22nd. ENI’s payout ratio is presently 44.25%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ENI

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in ENI by 111.2% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 659 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of ENI by 56.8% during the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 1,206 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 437 shares in the last quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of ENI during the first quarter worth approximately $85,000. EWA LLC bought a new position in shares of ENI during the first quarter worth approximately $202,000. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of ENI in the first quarter valued at approximately $203,000. 1.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About ENI

Eni S.p.A. is an Italian integrated energy company headquartered in Rome. Founded in 1953, the company operates across the energy value chain, including the exploration, development and production of oil and natural gas, as well as natural gas marketing and liquefied natural gas activities.

Eni also operates refining and chemicals businesses and has expanded into lower-carbon energy and related services. Through businesses such as Plenitude and Enilive, it provides renewable power, energy retail, electric-vehicle charging, mobility services, biofuels and other products designed to support the energy transition.