Erste Group Bank Increases Earnings Estimates for CME Group

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) – Research analysts at Erste Group Bank boosted their FY2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of CME Group in a report released on Tuesday, March 24th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now expects that the financial services provider will earn $11.94 per share for the year, up from their previous forecast of $11.90. Erste Group Bank currently has a “Strong-Buy” rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for CME Group’s current full-year earnings is $10.49 per share. Erste Group Bank also issued estimates for CME Group’s FY2027 earnings at $12.75 EPS.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $0.02. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.65% and a net margin of 62.45%.The business had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis.

CME has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their target price on shares of CME Group from $333.00 to $347.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of CME Group from $266.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, March 16th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $305.00 to $328.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $319.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of CME Group from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $304.06.

CME Group Price Performance

CME Group stock opened at $297.58 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $106.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.66, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.24. CME Group has a 52-week low of $248.53 and a 52-week high of $329.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.03. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $302.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $281.37.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 10th were given a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. CME Group’s payout ratio is 46.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CME Group news, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 3,291 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.37, for a total value of $1,097,120.67. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 7,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,397,597.04. This trade represents a 31.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.90, for a total transaction of $91,770.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 24,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,647,194.10. This represents a 1.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 8,539 shares of company stock worth $2,713,821 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CME Group

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CME. Caldwell Trust Co increased its holdings in CME Group by 116.3% during the 3rd quarter. Caldwell Trust Co now owns 93 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its holdings in shares of CME Group by 64.9% in the fourth quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 94 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of CME Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Elkhorn Partners Limited Partnership bought a new stake in CME Group during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.75% of the company’s stock.

About CME Group

CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world’s largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.

The company’s core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.