Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE) Receives Consensus Rating of "Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Intercontinental Exchange has a consensus analyst rating of “Buy” from 11 brokerages, with nine buy ratings, one strong buy, and one hold. The average 12-month price target is $194.60.
• The company posted strong quarterly results, reporting EPS of $2.35 versus estimates of $2.23 and revenue of $3.67 billion versus expectations of $2.88 billion. Revenue rose 20.4% year over year.
• Recent insider selling included trades by CTO Mayur Kapani and CFO Warren Gardiner, while institutional ownership remains high at 89.30%. Shares were last traded at $151.61, below the average analyst target.

Shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) have been given an average recommendation of "Buy" by the eleven brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $194.60.

A number of research firms have commented on ICE. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods began coverage on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $190.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $183.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $188.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 4,271 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.42, for a total transaction of $663,798.82. Following the transaction, the chief technology officer directly owned 64,869 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,081,939.98. This trade represents a 6.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Warren Gardiner sold 2,490 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.64, for a total transaction of $390,033.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 25,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,945,604.96. This represents a 9.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 24,788 shares of company stock valued at $3,864,675. 0.84% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Intercontinental Exchange

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Intercontinental Exchange in the 3rd quarter valued at about $897,000. Rockland Trust Co. grew its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 19.7% in the 3rd quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 127,652 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $21,507,000 after buying an additional 20,981 shares during the last quarter. M&G PLC grew its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 18.4% in the 3rd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 107,070 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $17,988,000 after buying an additional 16,635 shares during the last quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. grew its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter. McKinley Carter Wealth Services Inc. now owns 31,506 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $5,308,000 after buying an additional 4,333 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bright Rock Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 50.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bright Rock Capital Management LLC now owns 45,000 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $7,582,000 after buying an additional 15,000 shares during the last quarter. 89.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

Shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock opened at $151.61 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm has a market cap of $85.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.96. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $158.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $159.98. Intercontinental Exchange has a fifty-two week low of $143.17 and a fifty-two week high of $189.35.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported $2.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.12. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 30.06% and a return on equity of 14.99%. The business had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.72 earnings per share. Intercontinental Exchange's revenue for the quarter was up 20.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Intercontinental Exchange will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

About Intercontinental Exchange

Intercontinental Exchange NYSE: ICE is a global operator of exchanges, clearing houses and data services that provides infrastructure for the trading, clearing, settlement and information needs of financial and commodity markets. Founded in 2000 by Jeffrey C. Sprecher as an electronic energy trading platform, the company has grown through organic expansion and acquisitions to operate a broad portfolio of assets spanning listed equities, futures and options, fixed income, and over-the-counter derivatives.

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