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

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and thirteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $178.80.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ICE shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $179.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $190.00 to $189.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group upped their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $185.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $178.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th.

Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

ICE stock opened at $174.42 on Friday. Intercontinental Exchange has a 1 year low of $124.34 and a 1 year high of $175.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $100.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $164.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $160.09.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 6th. The financial services provider reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.01). Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 23.42% and a return on equity of 12.95%. Research analysts anticipate that Intercontinental Exchange will post 6.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Intercontinental Exchange Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 16th will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 16th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. Intercontinental Exchange’s payout ratio is 40.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Christopher Scott Edmonds sold 601 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.73, for a total value of $88,785.73. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,922 shares in the company, valued at $1,908,967.06. This represents a 4.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, President Benjamin Jackson sold 7,900 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.43, for a total transaction of $1,354,297.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 147,274 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,247,181.82. This trade represents a 5.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 66,563 shares of company stock valued at $10,998,990. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. REAP Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 116.7% during the 4th quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 169 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Menard Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Company Profile

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.