Erste Group Bank Predicts Increased Earnings for CME Group

Key Points

• Erste Group Bank raised its FY2027 EPS estimate for CME Group to $12.96 from $12.92, while keeping a Hold rating on the stock.
• CME’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS of $3.36 versus $3.11 expected and revenue of $1.88 billion versus $1.77 billion expected. Revenue also rose 14.5% year over year.
• The stock has drawn mixed Wall Street views, but overall sentiment remains Moderate Buy with a consensus target price of $300.94. Recent activity also included a small insider purchase by director William Shepard, even as some analysts trimmed price targets.

CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME - Free Report) - Erste Group Bank increased their FY2027 earnings per share estimates for shares of CME Group in a note issued to investors on Thursday, June 25th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now anticipates that the financial services provider will earn $12.96 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $12.92. Erste Group Bank has a "Hold" rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for CME Group's current full-year earnings is $12.28 per share.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The financial services provider reported $3.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.11 by $0.25. CME Group had a return on equity of 15.42% and a net margin of 63.19%.The company had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.80 earnings per share. CME Group's revenue was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

CME has been the subject of a number of other research reports. UBS Group reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of CME Group in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of CME Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of CME Group from $343.00 to $316.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of CME Group from $266.00 to $271.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of CME Group from $356.00 to $349.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $300.94.

CME Group Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:CME opened at $220.83 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. CME Group has a 52-week low of $218.31 and a 52-week high of $329.16. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $270.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $285.17. The company has a market capitalization of $80.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.21.

CME Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 25th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 9th were paid a $1.30 dividend. This represents a $5.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 9th. CME Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 44.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other CME Group news, Director William R. Shepard bought 325 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 25th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $230.57 per share, for a total transaction of $74,935.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 260,442 shares of the company's stock, valued at $60,050,111.94. This represents a 0.12% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 35,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.51, for a total value of $10,447,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 55,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,606,111.30. The trade was a 38.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CME Group

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CME. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in CME Group by 345.2% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 237,898 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $64,965,000 after purchasing an additional 184,459 shares in the last quarter. FLC Capital Advisors purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,122,000. First Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,325,000. MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 138.8% during the 4th quarter. MOKAN Wealth Management Inc. now owns 7,144 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,953,000 after buying an additional 4,152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 352,922 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $96,376,000 after buying an additional 22,692 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

CME Group News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Director William Shepard bought 325 shares of CME at $230.57, a small insider purchase that can signal confidence in the stock’s longer-term outlook. Insider Buying: CME Group NASDAQ: CME Director Purchases 325 Shares
• Positive Sentiment: A recent article highlighted CME as one of several oversold stocks, which may suggest the pullback has pushed the shares into technically attractive territory for some investors. CME Group (CME): 11 Oversold Tech Stocks to Buy Now
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts expect CME’s next quarterly earnings report to show only low single-digit profit growth, implying steady but not especially strong near-term fundamentals. What to Expect From CME Group's Next Quarterly Earnings Report
• Neutral Sentiment: A Seeking Alpha note said CME’s recent pullback does not change its hold-style view, suggesting some analysts see the decline as valuation-driven rather than a major change in business fundamentals. CME Group's Pullback Does Not Change The Rating
• Negative Sentiment: Goldman Sachs lowered its price target on CME and maintained a sell rating, reinforcing a cautious outlook from at least one major Wall Street firm. Goldman Sachs adjusts price target on CME Group
• Negative Sentiment: A market recap said CME was among the financial sector’s losers in the quarter, adding to the tone of recent weakness in the shares. Financial sector climbs in Q2 as Robinhood leads gainers, CME heads losers

About CME Group

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.

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