Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) Upgraded by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods to "Moderate Buy" Rating

Key Points

• Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) received a "moderate buy" rating upgrade from Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, indicating positive sentiment among analysts.
• The stock's average price target is now $198.20, with nine analysts rating it as a buy and two issuing hold ratings.
• Shares of Intercontinental Exchange are currently priced at $161.76, with a market cap of $92.60 billion and a reported 9.8% revenue growth year-over-year.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities researchers at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods to a "moderate buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also commented on ICE. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $192.00 to $188.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. UBS Group upped their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Barclays upped their target price on Intercontinental Exchange from $206.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $195.00 to $203.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Intercontinental Exchange has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $198.20.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock opened at $161.76 on Monday. Intercontinental Exchange has a one year low of $142.29 and a one year high of $189.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The stock's 50-day moving average is $175.60 and its 200 day moving average is $174.47. The firm has a market cap of $92.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.05, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.08.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The financial services provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.77 by $0.04. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 13.66% and a net margin of 23.92%.The company had revenue of $3.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.52 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Intercontinental Exchange will post 6.73 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Intercontinental Exchange

In other news, Director Duriya M. Farooqui sold 2,036 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.34, for a total value of $363,100.24. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 14,299 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,550,083.66. This represents a 12.46% 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, COO Stuart Glen Williams sold 939 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.04, for a total value of $161,545.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 16,624 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,859,992.96. This trade represents a 5.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 230,874 shares of company stock valued at $42,187,714. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Intercontinental Exchange

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Optivise Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Optivise Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,794 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $329,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. ICONIQ Capital LLC increased its holdings in Intercontinental Exchange by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC now owns 2,621 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $481,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Tritonpoint Wealth LLC now owns 4,347 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $798,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,207 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, RB Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Intercontinental Exchange by 1.3% in the second quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 4,584 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $841,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. 89.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Intercontinental Exchange Company Profile

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of market infrastructure, data services, and technology solutions for financial institutions, corporations, and government entities in the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Singapore, India, Abu Dhabi, Israel, and Canada.

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