Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $148.08.

Several brokerages have commented on ICE. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $152.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 19th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $135.00 to $149.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $153.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th.

Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

Shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock opened at $128.76 on Wednesday. Intercontinental Exchange has a 52-week low of $103.81 and a 52-week high of $140.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a fifty day moving average of $135.58 and a 200-day moving average of $125.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The financial services provider reported $1.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.04. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 23.91% and a return on equity of 12.91%. The company had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.20 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.25 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 24.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange will post 5.97 EPS for the current year.

Intercontinental Exchange Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is an increase from Intercontinental Exchange’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. Intercontinental Exchange’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.86%.

Insider Activity

In related news, General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski sold 341 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.74, for a total value of $44,923.34. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 48,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,417,450.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski sold 341 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.74, for a total value of $44,923.34. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 48,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,417,450.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Warren Gardiner sold 2,176 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.00, for a total transaction of $295,936.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 12,061 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,640,296. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 157,832 shares of company stock valued at $21,499,127 in the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Intercontinental Exchange

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Scarborough Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Annapolis Financial Services LLC raised its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 1,018.8% during the first quarter. Annapolis Financial Services LLC now owns 179 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp bought a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Institutional investors own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

About Intercontinental Exchange

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of market infrastructure, data services, and technology solutions for financial institutions, corporations, and government entities in the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Singapore, India, Abu Dhabi, Israel, and Canada.