Eni S.p.A. (NYSE:E) to Issue — Dividend of $0.54

Eni S.p.A. (NYSE:E) announced a — dividend on Monday, April 14th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be given a dividend of 0.5391 per share by the oil and gas exploration company on Monday, June 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 5.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 20th. This is a 51.9% increase from ENI’s previous — dividend of $0.35.

ENI has raised its dividend by an average of 9.8% annually over the last three years. ENI has a dividend payout ratio of 56.5% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect ENI to earn $3.78 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.16 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 57.1%.

ENI Stock Up 0.9 %

ENI stock traded up $0.24 during trading on Monday, reaching $26.68. 632,840 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 311,240. The company’s 50-day moving average is $29.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $29.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.27. ENI has a 52-week low of $24.65 and a 52-week high of $33.34. The firm has a market cap of $45.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.98, a PEG ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.73.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group cut shares of ENI from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com downgraded ENI from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $31.60 target price (down from $37.50) on shares of ENI in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.60.

About ENI

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.