Erste Group Bank Lifts Earnings Estimates for CME Group

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) – Equities researchers at Erste Group Bank upped their FY2026 earnings estimates for shares of CME Group in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, February 18th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now anticipates that the financial services provider will post earnings of $11.90 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $11.80. 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 $12.72 EPS.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Raymond James Financial dropped their price objective on CME Group from $311.00 to $310.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of CME Group in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Rothschild & Co Redburn boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $300.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of CME Group from $304.00 to $312.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of CME Group from $304.00 to $302.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $299.53.

CME Group Price Performance

CME stock opened at $308.09 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $283.19 and a 200-day moving average of $274.74. CME Group has a 12-month low of $246.91 and a 12-month high of $309.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market cap of $111.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.61, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.27.

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

Institutional Trading of CME Group

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CME. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 2nd quarter worth $1,571,447,000. Sanders Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group in the third quarter worth about $1,006,932,000. Strive Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of CME Group in the third quarter valued at about $636,487,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of CME Group by 746.4% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,049,649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $559,720,000 after buying an additional 1,807,491 shares during the period. Finally, Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new position in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $217,656,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other CME Group news, Director William R. Shepard purchased 251 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were bought at an average price of $278.37 per share, with a total value of $69,870.87. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 258,710 shares in the company, valued at $72,017,102.70. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Dennis Suskind sold 748 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $224,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 2,699 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $809,700. This represents a 21.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 26,048 shares of company stock worth $7,054,920. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be given a $1.30 dividend. This is a boost from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 10th. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.80%.

CME Group News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting CME Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: CME’s formal announcement to offer 24/7 trading for crypto futures and options — a move that addresses the timing gap with always‑on spot crypto markets and could lift ADV and fee revenue; the company cited record crypto notional volume in 2025. CME Group to Launch 24/7 Cryptocurrency Futures and Options Trading on May 29
• Positive Sentiment: Widespread coverage emphasizes the practical impacts — continuous trading can reduce “CME gaps,” boost institutional flow and expand crypto derivatives ADV, supporting the bullish thesis for trading‑fee growth. CME targets May launch for 24/7 crypto derivatives trading
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/fin‑media bullishness — some outlets include CME among top picks, arguing the firm converts market volatility into trading revenue, which supports the stock’s rally. 2 Best Stocks to Buy Right Now for February
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/market context — broader market moves (small‑cap rotation and sector flows) could be influencing intraday moves in financials/exchanges but are not specific to CME’s fundamentals. Small Caps Stage Quiet Comeback As AI Trade Shows Cracks
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short‑interest data appears immaterial or inconsistent (no meaningful change reported); it isn’t currently signaling a large positioning risk.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling — director Martin J. Gepsman sold 300 shares; small in size but noteworthy as a disclosed insider sale. Insider Sale: Martin J. Gepsman
• Negative Sentiment: Critical takeaways — at least one outlet warns of risks to the CME thesis (valuation and competitive/operational risks), which could temper enthusiasm if amplified by further negative coverage. 2 Reasons CME is Risky and 1 Stock to Buy Instead

CME Group Company Profile

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.