Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages

Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Buy” by the twelve brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $194.7273.

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $195.00 target price (down from $202.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Intercontinental Exchange from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $211.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th.

Intercontinental Exchange Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE:ICE opened at $156.97 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Intercontinental Exchange has a one year low of $143.17 and a one year high of $189.35. The company has a market cap of $89.15 billion, a PE ratio of 27.21, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $161.89 and a 200-day moving average of $160.63.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.51 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 26.23% and a return on equity of 13.99%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.52 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Intercontinental Exchange will post 6.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Intercontinental Exchange Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 16th will be given a $0.52 dividend. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 16th. Intercontinental Exchange’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.05%.

Insider Transactions at Intercontinental Exchange

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, insider Christopher Scott Edmonds sold 11,303 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.82, for a total transaction of $1,738,627.46. Following the transaction, the insider owned 14,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,194,396.12. This trade represents a 44.21% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Lynn C. Martin sold 13,456 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.86, for a total value of $2,070,340.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 54,319 shares in the company, valued at $8,357,521.34. The trade was a 19.85% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 348,418 shares of company stock worth $54,196,631. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the third quarter valued at approximately $897,000. Rockland Trust Co. increased its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 19.7% in the third quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 127,652 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $21,507,000 after buying an additional 20,981 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 37.7% in 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 raised its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 14.6% in 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 lifted its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 18.4% during the 3rd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 107,070 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $17,988,000 after buying an additional 16,635 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 89.30% of the company’s stock.

Intercontinental Exchange Company Profile

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.