Barclays Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) Stock

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) had its target price increased by equities research analysts at Barclays from $193.00 to $198.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 22.33% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods initiated coverage on Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Wednesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $190.00 price target for the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Intercontinental Exchange from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $211.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $191.80.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Down 3.5%

Shares of ICE opened at $161.85 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $91.68 billion, a PE ratio of 28.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a fifty day moving average of $160.52 and a 200 day moving average of $160.41. Intercontinental Exchange has a 52-week low of $143.17 and a 52-week 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.67 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 13.99% and a net margin of 26.23%.Intercontinental Exchange’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange will post 6.73 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Intercontinental Exchange

In other news, insider Christopher Scott Edmonds sold 11,303 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.82, for a total transaction of $1,738,627.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 14,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,194,396.12. This trade represents a 44.21% 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, CFO Warren Gardiner sold 2,490 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.00, for a total value of $383,460.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 27,679 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,262,566. This trade represents a 8.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 348,418 shares of company stock valued at $54,196,631. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Intercontinental Exchange

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the third quarter valued at $897,000. Rockland Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 19.7% during the third quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 127,652 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $21,507,000 after buying an additional 20,981 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 37.7% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,920 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $2,008,000 after buying an additional 3,261 shares during the period. Eastern Bank increased its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 14.6% during the third quarter. Eastern Bank now owns 203,731 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $34,325,000 after buying an additional 25,980 shares during the period. Finally, M&G PLC grew its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 18.4% in the third quarter. M&G PLC now owns 107,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,988,000 after purchasing an additional 16,635 shares during the last quarter. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.