Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) announced its earnings results on Thursday. The financial services provider reported $1.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48, Briefing.com reports. Intercontinental Exchange had a return on equity of 12.76% and a net margin of 24.24%. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.41 EPS. Intercontinental Exchange’s quarterly revenue was up 20.8% on a year-over-year basis.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ICE traded up $3.96 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $130.50. 3,991,238 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,404,087. Intercontinental Exchange has a twelve month low of $103.81 and a twelve month high of $140.43. The firm has a market cap of $74.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.93, a PEG ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.02. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $135.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $125.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 1.00.

Intercontinental Exchange Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, June 13th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 13th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Intercontinental Exchange’s payout ratio is currently 41.28%.

Insider Activity at Intercontinental Exchange

In other Intercontinental Exchange news, General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski sold 341 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.74, for a total transaction of $44,923.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the general counsel now owns 48,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,417,450.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, major shareholder Intercontinental Exchange, Inc bought 2,762,009 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $0.87 per share, with a total value of $2,402,947.83. Following the purchase, the insider now owns 7,476,345 shares in the company, valued at $6,504,420.15. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski sold 341 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.74, for a total transaction of $44,923.34. Following the transaction, the general counsel now directly owns 48,713 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,417,450.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 157,832 shares of company stock worth $21,499,127 in the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on ICE shares. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $156.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com cut shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday. Raymond James boosted their price objective on Intercontinental Exchange from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 5th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $164.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Friday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Intercontinental Exchange from $156.00 to $155.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $147.92.

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.