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Should You Retain Intercontinental (ICE) in Your Portfolio?

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Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (ICE - Free Report) is well-poised for growth, driven by strategic acquisitions, a solid balance sheet and effective capital deployment.

Growth Projections

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2022 and 2023 earnings per share is pegged at $5.34 and $5.73, indicating a year-over-year increase of nearly 3.7% and 7.3%, respectively.

Intercontinental Exchange’s expected long-term earnings growth rate is 9.5%.

Earnings Surprise History

Intercontinental Exchange surpassed estimates in each of the last four reported quarters, with the average beat being 2.76%.

Estimate Revision

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2023 earnings has moved 0.9% north in the past seven days, reflecting analyst optimism.

Zacks Rank & Price Performance

Intercontinental Exchange currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). In the past year, the stock has lost 29.5% compared with the industry’s decline of 33%.

Zacks Investment Research
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

Business Tailwinds

The top line of Intercontinental Exchange is likely to gain from its expansive product and service portfolio. Intercontinental Exchange expects 5% to 6% growth in Fixed Income and Data Services recurring revenues in 2022.

Continued strength in the pricing and analytics business, driven by strong customer demand for the company’s pricing and reference data products, and connectivity offerings are likely to drive data revenues.

In May 2022, ICE inked a deal to buy Black Knight to consolidate its presence as a provider of end-to-end electronic workflow solutions for the rapidly evolving U.S. residential mortgage industry. The company estimates Black Knight’s recurring and predictable revenues to complement its existing revenue streams and improve the mix of high-growth recurring revenues.

Intercontinental Exchange’s series of acquisitions contributed to its growth trajectory. The company remains focused on accelerating growth with acquisitions to strengthen its competitive position globally, broaden product offerings and services as well as support growth.

Intercontinental Exchange remains well-poised for growth, riding on accelerated digitization taking place in the U.S. residential mortgage industry to overcome several inefficiencies existing across mortgage origination workflow.

The company boasts a strong balance sheet with solid cash and capital position. A healthy and minimal risk-based balance sheet is likely to continue providing stability and buoyancy over the medium to long term while supporting strategic investments.

By virtue of a solid statutory balance sheet and sufficient cash, ICE’s dividend has more than doubled in the last six years.

Stocks to Consider

Some better-ranked stocks from the finance sector include Deutsche Boerse AG (DBOEY - Free Report) , OTC Markets Group (OTCM - Free Report) and Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (CBOE - Free Report) . While Deutsche Boerse sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), OTC Markets and Cboe Global carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The bottom line of Deutsche Boerse surpassed earnings estimates in each of the last four quarters, the average being 9.53%. In the past year, DBOEY has lost 6.1%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Deutsche Boerse’s 2022 and 2023 earnings has moved 5.2% and 11.4% north, respectively, in the past 30 days.

OTC Markets’ earnings surpassed estimates in three of the last four quarters and missed in one, the average earnings surprise being 16.60%. In the past year, OTCM has rallied 14.3%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for OTC Markets’ 2022 and 2023 earnings has moved 14.7% and 15.9% north, respectively, in the past 60 days.  

Cboe Global’s earnings surpassed estimates in three of the last four quarters and missed in one, the average beat being 3.59%. In the past year, CBOE has lost 5.5%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Cboe Global’s 2022 and 2023 earnings has moved 0.6% and 1.2% north in the past seven days.

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