CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Raised to "Buy" at Citigroup

Key Points

• CME Group has been upgraded by Citigroup from a "neutral" to a "buy" rating, with a new price target of $300.00, indicating a potential upside of 13.45% from its current price.
• Recent research reports show a mixed outlook for CME Group, with five analysts rating the stock as a buy, eight as hold, and three as sell, while the average price target is $262.27.
• In the latest earnings report, the company reported $2.96 earnings per share, exceeding estimates, with a 10.4% increase in quarterly revenue compared to the previous year.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Citigroup from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $300.00 price objective on the financial services provider's stock, up from their previous price objective of $275.00. Citigroup's price objective points to a potential upside of 13.45% from the stock's current price.

CME has been the topic of a number of other research reports. UBS Group dropped their price target on CME Group from $305.00 to $285.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded CME Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 13th. Piper Sandler raised their price target on CME Group from $283.00 to $296.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Barclays set a $298.00 price target on CME Group and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on CME Group from $300.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, CME Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $262.27.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CME opened at $264.43 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02. CME Group has a fifty-two week low of $213.94 and a fifty-two week high of $290.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.30 billion, a PE ratio of 25.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.74 and a beta of 0.43. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $271.14 and its 200-day simple moving average is $270.75.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The financial services provider reported $2.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.05. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.60% and a net margin of 58.48%.The business had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.56 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that CME Group will post 10.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Timothy Francis Mccourt sold 379 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.83, for a total value of $98,475.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 9,508 shares in the company, valued at $2,470,463.64. This trade represents a 3.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, General Counsel Jonathan L. Marcus sold 392 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $262.00, for a total transaction of $102,704.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel owned 7,851 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,056,962. This represents a 4.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 13,043 shares of company stock worth $3,527,956 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CME Group

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in CME Group by 78.0% during the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 53,675 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $14,683,000 after purchasing an additional 23,523 shares during the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC raised its holdings in CME Group by 10.0% during the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 15,094 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $4,160,000 after purchasing an additional 1,367 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its holdings in CME Group by 138.0% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 38,019 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $10,478,000 after purchasing an additional 22,046 shares during the last quarter. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH acquired a new position in CME Group during the second quarter worth $9,084,000. Finally, Stance Capital LLC acquired a new position in CME Group during the second quarter worth $1,330,000. 87.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group Company Profile

CME Group Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates contract markets for the trading of futures and options on futures contracts worldwide. It offers futures and options products based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, agricultural commodities, energy, and metals, as well as fixed income and foreign currency trading services.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.