Investors Buy Shares of Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) on Weakness

Investors purchased shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc (NYSE:ICE) on weakness during trading on Friday. $145.65 million flowed into the stock on the tick-up and $80.32 million flowed out of the stock on the tick-down, for a money net flow of $65.33 million into the stock. Of all stocks tracked, Intercontinental Exchange had the 6th highest net in-flow for the day. Intercontinental Exchange traded down ($0.45) for the day and closed at $75.50

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ICE shares. Zacks Investment Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $86.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Tuesday, November 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. set a $92.00 target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 2nd. Deutsche Bank boosted their target price on shares of Intercontinental Exchange from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 16th. Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “conviction-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 4th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.63 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. The company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $85.78.

The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.03, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.47.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 7th. The financial services provider reported $0.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.02. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 31.68% and a return on equity of 12.23%. The business had revenue of $1.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.73 earnings per share. Intercontinental Exchange’s revenue was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Intercontinental Exchange Inc will post 3.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 16th will be given a dividend of $0.275 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 13th. This represents a $1.10 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. Intercontinental Exchange’s dividend payout ratio is 26.74%.

Intercontinental Exchange announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, October 31st that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to buy up to 4.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

In other news, General Counsel Andrew J. Surdykowski sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.42, for a total value of $188,550.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman Charles A. Vice sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.75, for a total transaction of $2,791,250.00. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 108,700 shares of company stock valued at $8,408,568 in the last ninety days. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 135.7% in the third quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 17,500 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,311,000 after acquiring an additional 10,075 shares during the last quarter. Cohen Lawrence B lifted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Cohen Lawrence B now owns 21,077 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,588,000 after acquiring an additional 615 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 23.3% in the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 7,925 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $594,000 after acquiring an additional 1,495 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA bought a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter worth about $569,000. Finally, D.B. Root & Company LLC acquired a new position in shares of Intercontinental Exchange in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $339,000. 89.80% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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About Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE)

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc operates regulated exchanges, clearing houses, and listings venues for financial and commodity markets in the United States, the United Kingdom, Continental Europe, Asia, Israel, and Canada. It operates through two segments, Trading and Clearing; and Data and Listings. The company operates marketplaces for listing, trading, and clearing an array of derivatives and securities contracts across various asset classes, including energy and agricultural commodities, interest rates, equities, equity and credit derivatives, exchange traded funds, bonds, and currencies.

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