Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) Now Covered by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on shares of Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) in a report published on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued an outperform rating and a $190.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also commented on ICE. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $195.00 price target (down from $202.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $211.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Barclays set a $193.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $191.80.

Intercontinental Exchange Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ICE opened at $167.97 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $160.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $160.40. Intercontinental Exchange has a 52 week low of $143.17 and a 52 week high of $189.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.11, a PEG ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 26.23% and a return on equity of 13.99%. The company had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.52 earnings per share. Intercontinental Exchange’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Intercontinental Exchange will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 16th will be issued a $0.52 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 16th. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Intercontinental Exchange’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Lynn C. Martin sold 13,456 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.86, for a total transaction of $2,070,340.16. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 54,319 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,357,521.34. This trade represents a 19.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Christopher Scott Edmonds sold 11,303 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.82, for a total value of $1,738,627.46. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 14,266 shares in the company, valued at $2,194,396.12. This trade represents a 44.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 348,418 shares of company stock valued at $54,196,631. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ares Financial Consulting LLC acquired a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Brooklands Fund Management Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Dorato Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Swiss RE Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Steph & Co. lifted its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 104.7% in the fourth quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 174 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

About Intercontinental Exchange

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.