IDEX Corporation (IEX) - What Are Analysts Thinking About This Stock?

Key Points

• Analysts remain broadly bullish: IDEX has a “Moderate Buy” consensus from 12 firms, with nine buy ratings and an average 12-month price target of $263.64.
• Quarterly results exceeded expectations: IDEX reported adjusted earnings of $2.33 per share versus the $2.24 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 8.3% year over year to $951.7 million.
• Shares trade near their 52-week high: IDEX opened at $233.73, compared with a 52-week range of $160.60 to $243.80, and recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.73, yielding approximately 1.2% annually.

IDEX Corporation (NYSE:IEX - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the twelve research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $263.64.

IEX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of IDEX from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Mizuho upgraded IDEX from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $210.00 to $280.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on IDEX from $267.00 to $273.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird set a $268.00 price target on IDEX in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on IDEX from $269.00 to $272.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday.

Insider Transactions at IDEX

In other news, CAO Lisa Anderson sold 385 shares of IDEX stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.59, for a total transaction of $91,857.15. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 4,327 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,032,378.93. The trade was a 8.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IDEX

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Burkett Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of IDEX in the third quarter worth about $27,000. Optiver Holding B.V. purchased a new position in shares of IDEX during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of IDEX during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of IDEX by 42.7% during the 3rd quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 147 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of IDEX during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 97.96% of the company's stock.

IDEX Stock Down 2.3%

Shares of IEX opened at $233.73 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $17.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 2.15 and a current ratio of 2.78. IDEX has a 52 week low of $160.60 and a 52 week high of $243.80. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $230.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $215.96.

IDEX (NYSE:IEX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The industrial products company reported $2.33 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.24 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $951.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $934.36 million. IDEX had a return on equity of 16.18% and a net margin of 14.65%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.03 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that IDEX will post 8.94 earnings per share for the current year.

IDEX Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 2nd were given a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 2nd. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. IDEX's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.56%.

IDEX Company Profile

IDEX Corporation is an industrial manufacturing company headquartered in Lake Forest, Illinois. The company designs and produces engineered products and technologies used to move, control, measure and apply fluids, as well as equipment used in fire and safety applications.

IDEX operates through businesses serving fluid and metering technologies, health and science technologies, and fire and safety markets. Its products include pumps, valves, flow meters, compressors, dispensing equipment, precision fluidics components and systems, fire pumps, rescue tools and other specialized equipment.

The company serves a broad range of industries, including healthcare, life sciences, water and wastewater, chemical processing, energy, food and beverage, agriculture, industrial manufacturing and municipal fire protection.

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