ENI (NYSE:E) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of ENI (NYSE:E) in a research note released on Wednesday morning, StockNewsAPI reports. The brokerage issued an equal weight rating on the oil and gas exploration company’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Redburn Atlantic raised shares of ENI from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. StockNews.com raised shares of ENI from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Berenberg Bank cut shares of ENI from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, March 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, ENI presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy.

ENI Price Performance

Shares of ENI stock opened at $31.20 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.82. The firm has a market cap of $52.66 billion, a PE ratio of 13.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. ENI has a 12-month low of $28.19 and a 12-month high of $34.30.

ENI (NYSE:E) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The oil and gas exploration company reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by ($0.18). The company had revenue of $25.16 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.83 billion. ENI had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 12.57%. As a group, equities analysts expect that ENI will post 4.49 EPS for the current year.

ENI Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.372 per share. This represents a $1.49 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.77%. This is a boost from ENI’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 24th. ENI’s payout ratio is presently 60.34%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. FMR LLC grew its position in ENI by 10.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 443,337 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $14,151,000 after buying an additional 43,286 shares during the period. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its position in ENI by 94.9% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 162,196 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $5,177,000 after buying an additional 78,957 shares during the period. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in ENI by 5.7% during the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 72,960 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $2,329,000 after buying an additional 3,944 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in ENI during the third quarter valued at approximately $635,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in ENI by 10.7% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 251,950 shares of the oil and gas exploration company’s stock valued at $8,042,000 after buying an additional 24,367 shares during the period. 1.18% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About ENI

Eni S.p.A. operates as an integrated energy company worldwide. The company engages in exploration, development, extracting, manufacturing, and marketing crude oil and natural gas, oil-based fuels, chemical products, and gas-fired power, as well as energy products from renewable sources. It operates through Exploration & Production; Global Gas & LNG Portfolio (GGP); Enilive, Refining and Chemicals; Plenitude & Power; and Corporate and Other Activities segments.