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Here's Why Eni (E) Appears to be an Attractive Investment Bet

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Eni SpA (E - Free Report) has witnessed upward earnings estimate revisions for 2022 and 2023 in the past 30 days. The stock, with a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy), is likely to see earnings growth of 166% this year.

What’s Favoring the Stock?

The price of West Texas Intermediate crude is trading around the $95-per-barrel mark, highlighting a substantial improvement from the last year. The positive trajectory in oil price is a boon for Eni’s upstream operations.

Eni has added about 300 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMBoe) of discovered resources to its reserve base year to date. The significant discoveries amid soaring oil prices are pretty compelling. Moreover, the energy giant expects to discover exploration resources of around 700 MMBoe this year. The developments will boost Eni’s organic growth and cash flow generation.

Eni’s commitment to the energy transition is commendable. It has an ambitious plan of reaching 60 Gigawatt (GW) of installed renewable energy capacity by 2050. Notably, the company expects to generate more than 2 GW of installed renewable generation capacity by the year-end. Eni’s integration of its retail and renewable power business, Plenitude, reflects its strong focus on capitalizing on mounting demand for renewables and green energy products.

Also, Eni’s efforts to reward its shareholders are commendable. Benefitting from the rising commodity prices, the company increased its share buyback program by €1.3 billion to an annual total of €2.4 billion. Looking at its dividend history, it has been a clear picture that Eni’s dividend yield of 5.2% is more attractive than the Zacks Oil - Energy sector and Zacks S&P 500 composite.

Other Stocks to Consider

Some other top-ranked players in the energy space are Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM - Free Report) , PBF Energy Inc. (PBF - Free Report) and Equinor ASA (EQNR - Free Report) , each currently sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

ExxonMobil is one of the leading integrated energy companies in the world. At the end of second-quarter 2022, XOM’s total cash and cash equivalents were $18.9 billion, and long-term debt amounted to $39.5 billion. The firm has significantly lower debt exposure as compared to other integrated majors.

ExxonMobil has witnessed upward earnings estimate revisions for 2022 and 2023 in the past 30 days. The company currently has a Zacks Style Score of A for Growth and Momentum, and B for Value. XOM is expected to see earnings growth of 135.7% for 2022.

PBF Energy has one of the most complex refining systems in the United States. This reflects that its oil refineries, having the capacity to generate lighter and better grades of refined products, are more sophisticated than most other refiners.

PBF Energy has witnessed upward earnings estimate revisions for 2022 and 2023 in the past 30 days. The company currently has a Zacks Style Score of A for Value and Growth. PBF is expected to see earnings growth of 819.6% for 2022.

Equinor is one of the premier integrated energy companies in the world. For 2022, Equinor announced the increase of the share buy-back program of up to $6 billion from the prior stated $5 billion. This reflects the firm’s strong commitment to returning capital to shareholders.

Equinor has witnessed upward earnings estimate revisions for 2022 and 2023 in the past 30 days. The company currently has a Zacks Style Score of A for Growth and Value, and B for Momentum. EQNR is expected to see earnings growth of 104.9% for 2022.

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