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

Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $198.20.

Several brokerages recently commented on ICE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $195.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 25th. Barclays boosted their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $206.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $192.00 to $188.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. UBS Group boosted their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Saturday, September 27th.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of ICE opened at $161.76 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.01. Intercontinental Exchange has a one year low of $142.29 and a one year high of $189.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $92.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.05, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $175.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $174.47.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.04. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 13.66% and a net margin of 23.92%.The firm had revenue of $3.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Intercontinental Exchange will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, SVP Douglas Foley sold 1,600 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 25,796 shares in the company, valued at $4,530,293.52. This represents a 5.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski sold 3,850 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.33, for a total value of $686,570.50. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel owned 46,293 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,255,430.69. The trade was a 7.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 230,874 shares of company stock worth $42,187,714 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Intercontinental Exchange

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ICE. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 51.3% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,448 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $514,000 after purchasing an additional 1,169 shares during the period. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange during the 1st quarter worth $88,000. Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 17.7% during the 1st quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,772 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 266 shares during the period. City Holding Co. grew its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 1,221 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 2,167 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the period. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.