Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $183.3333.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on ICE. Raymond James Financial set a $208.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Monday, July 6th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $195.00 price objective (up from $190.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen cut Intercontinental Exchange from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 1st. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $177.00 target price (up from $159.00) on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Intercontinental Exchange from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

ICE opened at $150.48 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $139.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $152.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The company has a market capitalization of $84.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.92. Intercontinental Exchange has a 1-year low of $121.79 and a 1-year high of $187.09.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The financial services provider reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.84 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $3.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.63 billion. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 14.95% and a net margin of 30.08%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.81 EPS. Research analysts predict that Intercontinental Exchange will post 8.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, CFO Warren Gardiner sold 2,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.64, for a total value of $390,033.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 25,189 shares in the company, valued at $3,945,604.96. This trade represents a 9.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Sharon Bowen sold 667 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.28, for a total transaction of $100,903.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 15,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,280,848.56. This trade represents a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,725 shares of company stock worth $3,133,148. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Intercontinental Exchange

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ICE. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 191,658 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $31,041,000 after buying an additional 10,742 shares during the last quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 37.2% during the 1st quarter. USS Investment Management Ltd now owns 946,920 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $148,960,000 after acquiring an additional 256,851 shares during the period. Walter Public Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 13.8% in the 4th quarter. Walter Public Investments Inc. now owns 124,993 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $20,244,000 after acquiring an additional 15,129 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management increased its position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 51,986.3% in the fourth quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management now owns 400,544 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $64,872,000 after purchasing an additional 399,775 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,153,170 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $8,770,647,000 after purchasing an additional 413,639 shares in the last quarter. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Intercontinental Exchange

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.