IDEX Corporation (NYSE:IEX) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

IDEX Corporation (NYSE:IEX - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eight brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $212.50.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on IDEX from $206.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Mizuho set a $185.00 price target on IDEX in a report on Friday, May 16th. Robert W. Baird set a $215.00 price target on IDEX in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup cut their target price on IDEX from $264.00 to $201.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on IDEX from $192.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd.

Insider Transactions at IDEX

In related news, CFO Akhil Mahendra sold 250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.89, for a total value of $45,222.50. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 5,035 shares in the company, valued at $910,781.15. This trade represents a 4.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IDEX

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Horizon Investments LLC lifted its stake in IDEX by 5.2% in the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 1,087 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $197,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in IDEX by 3.4% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,646 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $298,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in IDEX by 1.0% in the first quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 5,990 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,084,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in IDEX by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,925 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,031,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in IDEX by 0.7% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,332 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,508,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 97.96% of the company's stock.

IDEX Stock Performance

IEX traded down $3.82 on Friday, hitting $181.61. The company had a trading volume of 646,834 shares, compared to its average volume of 604,776. The company's fifty day moving average price is $181.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $188.20. IDEX has a 1-year low of $153.36 and a 1-year high of $238.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 2.79 and a quick ratio of 1.99. The stock has a market cap of $13.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.84 and a beta of 1.04.

IDEX (NYSE:IEX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.11. IDEX had a return on equity of 15.51% and a net margin of 14.60%. The company had revenue of $814.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $807.25 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.88 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that IDEX will post 8.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

IDEX Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Investors of record on Friday, July 11th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 11th. IDEX's dividend payout ratio is 45.01%.

IDEX Company Profile

IDEX Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides applied solutions worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Fluid & Metering Technologies (FMT), Health & Science Technologies (HST), and Fire & Safety/Diversified Products (FSDP). The FMT segment designs, produces, and distributes positive displacement pumps, valves, small volume provers, flow meters, injectors, and other fluid-handling pump modules and systems, as well as flow monitoring and other services for the food, chemical, general industrial, water and wastewater, agricultural, and energy industries.