IDEX Corporation (NYSE:IEX) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of IDEX Corporation (NYSE:IEX) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seven brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $203.2857.

A number of analysts recently issued reports on IEX shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of IDEX in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of IDEX from $197.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of IDEX from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Oppenheimer set a $210.00 target price on shares of IDEX in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of IDEX in a report on Wednesday, December 3rd.

IDEX Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE:IEX opened at $196.34 on Thursday. IDEX has a 1 year low of $153.36 and a 1 year high of $226.04. The company has a current ratio of 2.93, a quick ratio of 2.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market cap of $14.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.07, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $181.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $172.07.

IDEX (NYSE:IEX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.10. IDEX had a return on equity of 15.20% and a net margin of 13.97%.The company had revenue of $878.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $861.44 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.90 earnings per share. IDEX’s revenue was up 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that IDEX will post 8.26 earnings per share for the current year.

IDEX Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Friday, January 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 16th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. IDEX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.94%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IDEX

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of IEX. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of IDEX by 3.4% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,646 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $298,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in IDEX by 23.4% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,341 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,149,000 after purchasing an additional 1,202 shares in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its stake in IDEX by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 23,467 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,120,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in IDEX by 111.7% during the 2nd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 1,213 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $213,000 after buying an additional 640 shares in the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of IDEX by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 2,553 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $448,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.96% of the company’s stock.

About IDEX

IDEX Corporation is a diversified industrial manufacturer specializing in the design, production and distribution of highly engineered fluidics systems, measurement technologies and safety solutions. The company’s core offerings include positive-displacement pumps, flow meters, valves, sampling systems and analytical instruments that serve a wide range of end markets such as water treatment, chemical processing, energy, food and beverage, and life sciences. Through its focus on precision engineering and proprietary material science, IDEX delivers products designed for reliability in demanding applications.

Operations at IDEX are organized into three principal segments.