IDEX Corporation (NYSE:IEX) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Key Points

• IDEX Corporation has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy”, with six buy ratings and three hold ratings from nine brokerages. The average 12-month price target is about $241.11.
• The company recently reported strong quarterly results, posting EPS of $2.00 versus expectations of $1.78 and revenue of $886.9 million, also ahead of estimates. IDEX also raised its full-year guidance and increased its quarterly dividend to $0.73 per share.
• There was notable insider and institutional activity, including CEO Eric D. Ashleman selling 15,385 shares, while hedge funds and large investors continue to hold a dominant stake in the company. Institutional ownership stands at 97.96%.

IDEX Corporation (NYSE:IEX - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the nine brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and six have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $241.1111.

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on IEX. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of IDEX from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of IDEX in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Argus upgraded shares of IDEX from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $240.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of IDEX from $225.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $250.00 price target on shares of IDEX in a research note on Thursday, April 30th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Eric D. Ashleman sold 15,385 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.22, for a total value of $3,311,159.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 66,658 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,346,134.76. This trade represents a 18.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of IDEX

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IEX. Primecap Management Co. CA lifted its stake in shares of IDEX by 86.5% in the 4th quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 3,226,787 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $574,174,000 after acquiring an additional 1,496,207 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox lifted its stake in shares of IDEX by 266.7% in the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 1,262,550 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $224,658,000 after acquiring an additional 918,208 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of IDEX in the 4th quarter worth $162,788,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of IDEX by 293.6% in the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,063,763 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $189,286,000 after acquiring an additional 793,530 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of IDEX by 215.0% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,094,101 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $207,387,000 after acquiring an additional 746,732 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.96% of the company's stock.

IDEX Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of IDEX stock opened at $212.17 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $203.45 and a 200-day simple moving average of $194.17. IDEX has a 12-month low of $157.25 and a 12-month high of $223.85. The company has a current ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market cap of $15.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.39, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.00.

IDEX (NYSE:IEX - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.00 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $886.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $845.58 million. IDEX had a net margin of 14.38% and a return on equity of 15.29%. IDEX's quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.75 EPS. IDEX has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.070-2.120 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.350-8.550 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that IDEX will post 8.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

IDEX Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 5th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. This is an increase from IDEX's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. IDEX's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 43.20%.

About IDEX

IDEX Corporation is a diversified industrial manufacturer specializing in the design, production and distribution of highly engineered fluidics systems, measurement technologies and safety solutions. The company's core offerings include positive-displacement pumps, flow meters, valves, sampling systems and analytical instruments that serve a wide range of end markets such as water treatment, chemical processing, energy, food and beverage, and life sciences. Through its focus on precision engineering and proprietary material science, IDEX delivers products designed for reliability in demanding applications.

Operations at IDEX are organized into three principal segments.

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