Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) have earned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $194.70.

ICE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Intercontinental Exchange from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $202.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $188.00 to $178.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Intercontinental Exchange to a “moderate buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $199.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st.

Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ICE opened at $156.46 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $157.04 and a 200 day moving average of $171.56. The firm has a market cap of $89.21 billion, a PE ratio of 30.03, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.06. Intercontinental Exchange has a one year low of $142.29 and a one year high of $189.35.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.71. The business had revenue of $3.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.49 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 23.92% and a return on equity of 13.66%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.55 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Intercontinental Exchange will post 6.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 10,082 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.88, for a total value of $1,601,828.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief technology officer owned 65,240 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,365,331.20. This trade represents a 13.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Douglas Foley sold 1,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.62, for a total value of $280,992.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 25,796 shares in the company, valued at $4,530,293.52. This trade represents a 5.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 170,944 shares of company stock worth $26,338,174. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange during the second quarter worth about $28,000. Activest Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 4,050.0% in the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 166 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC grew its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 59.5% in the third quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.