Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (NYSE:ICE) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,930,000 shares, an increase of 5.7% from the September 30th total of 5,610,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,690,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ICE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $171.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $168.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Barclays reduced their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $179.00 to $173.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $171.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Intercontinental Exchange currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.93.

Insider Activity at Intercontinental Exchange

In related news, General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski sold 2,048 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.57, for a total value of $326,799.36. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 44,865 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,159,108.05. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski sold 2,048 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.57, for a total transaction of $326,799.36. Following the transaction, the general counsel now owns 44,865 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,159,108.05. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Christopher Scott Edmonds sold 602 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.81, for a total transaction of $98,011.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 14,034 shares in the company, valued at $2,284,875.54. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,489 shares of company stock valued at $1,202,259. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Intercontinental Exchange

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 7.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 50,776,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $6,978,218,000 after buying an additional 3,536,913 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 4.3% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,280,194 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $725,657,000 after purchasing an additional 218,516 shares during the period. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 4,696,457 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $645,434,000 after purchasing an additional 28,771 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,453,286 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $609,609,000 after purchasing an additional 191,763 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 10.4% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 3,019,195 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $413,298,000 after acquiring an additional 284,664 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ICE opened at $154.64 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.79 billion, a PE ratio of 38.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.08. Intercontinental Exchange has a 52 week low of $104.91 and a 52 week high of $167.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $161.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $148.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.55. The business had revenue of $2.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.35 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 21.43% and a return on equity of 12.70%. The firm’s revenue was up 17.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Intercontinental Exchange will post 6.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Intercontinental Exchange Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Monday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 16th. Intercontinental Exchange’s payout ratio is presently 44.55%.

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.