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

Shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) have received a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are 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 given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $195.10.

ICE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $195.00 price target (down previously from $202.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $211.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Friday. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Up 0.3%

ICE stock opened at $169.47 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $165.44 and a 200 day moving average of $166.21. The firm has a market cap of $96.24 billion, a PE ratio of 29.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.02. Intercontinental Exchange has a twelve month low of $143.17 and a twelve month high of $189.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 13.99% and a net margin of 26.23%.The business had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Intercontinental Exchange will post 6.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 16th. Intercontinental Exchange’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.28%.

Insider Activity at Intercontinental Exchange

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, CFO Warren Gardiner sold 1,572 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.65, for a total transaction of $241,537.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 20,534 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,155,049.10. This represents a 7.11% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Douglas Foley sold 1,600 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.20, for a total transaction of $261,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 24,196 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,948,787.20. This represents a 6.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 168,709 shares of company stock valued at $25,955,387 over the last three months. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Intercontinental Exchange

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,401 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,846,000 after buying an additional 291 shares during the period. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas boosted its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas now owns 21,108 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $3,419,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. MTM Investment Management LLC now owns 6,935 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,123,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp grew its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 337,468 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $54,656,000 after acquiring an additional 25,933 shares during the period. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 14,081 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $2,281,000 after purchasing an additional 487 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Company Profile

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE: ICE) is a global operator of exchanges, clearing houses and data services that provides infrastructure for the trading, clearing, settlement and information needs of financial and commodity markets. Founded in 2000 by Jeffrey C. Sprecher as an electronic energy trading platform, the company has grown through organic expansion and acquisitions to operate a broad portfolio of assets spanning listed equities, futures and options, fixed income, and over-the-counter derivatives.