Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Intercontinental (ICE) Up 11.5% in a Year: What's Driving It?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (ICE - Free Report) shares have gained 11.5% in a year, outperforming the industry's increase of 6% and the Zacks S&P 500 composite’s increase of 5.2%. With market capitalization of $51.3 billion, average volume of shares traded in the last three months was 3.6 million.

The company continues to benefit from a compelling portfolio, broad range of risk management services, customer retention and solid capital position. Intercontinental Exchange delivered positive earnings surprise in three of the last four reported quarters with the average beat being 4.46%.

Return on equity of 13.9% in the trailing twelve months was better than the industry average of 12.2%, reflecting the company’s efficiency in utilizing shareholders’ fund.  


 

Will the Bull Run Continue?

The company’s revenues have improved over the last several years on the back of compelling product and service suite along with strategic acquisitions. Given its strength in Trading and Clearing and Data and Listings segments, we expect the momentum to continue. Management estimates data revenues of $2.29-$2.33 billion for 2020.

The company continues to make strategic investments in growth initiatives, adding additional capabilities across data, mortgage and digital asset platforms.

With over 5,000 indices representing more than $1 trillion in benchmark assets under management, Intercontinental Exchange boasts being the second-largest fixed income provider globally. The company has six clearing houses across the globe and offers comprehensive risk management solutions.

The company focuses on complementing its organic growth with strategic buyouts to enhance content on networks, accelerate entrance into new asset classes and leverage technology. Acquisitions have also helped it achieve expense synergies.

Based on its operational performance, this Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) leading global operator of regulated exchanges, clearing houses and listings venues has been delivering bottom-line growth for the last 14 years at a CAGR of 17%.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for 2020 and 2021 earnings indicates 16.2% and 3.1% year-over-year increase, respectively. Its expected long-term earnings growth is pegged at 8.2%, better than the industry average of 6.7%.

A healthy and minimal risk-based balance sheet is likely to provide stability over the medium to long term. The company generates solid cash flows that in turn help in effective capital deployment.

The consensus estimate for 2020 and 2021 has moved north by 0.5% and 0.4%, respectively in the past seven days, reflecting analysts’ optimism.

Additionally, the shares are trading at a price to earnings ratio of 20.2, cheaper than the industry average of 23.6. Undervalued companies with solid fundamentals and impressive growth are always attractive investment bets.

Other Stocks to Consider

Investors interested in the security and exchange industry can look at MarketAxess Holdings Inc (MKTX - Free Report) , Deutsche Boerse AG (DBOEY - Free Report) and Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (CBOE - Free Report) .

MarketAxess operates an electronic trading platform that enables fixed-income market participants to trade corporate bonds and other types of fixed-income instruments worldwide. It surpassed estimates in three of the last four quarters, with the average positive surprise being 1.09%. The stock sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

Deutsche Boerse operates as an exchange organization in Europe, the United States, and the Asia-Pacific and engages in the electronic trading of derivatives, foreign exchange, operating Eurex Repo over the counter (OTC) trading platform and electronic clearing architecture. It came up with the average positive surprise of 15.38%. It carries Zacks Rank #2.

Cboe Global is one of the largest stock exchange operators by volume in the United States and a leading market globally for ETP trading.  It surpassed estimates in each of the last four quarters, with the average positive surprise being 8.24%.

Just Released: Zacks’ 7 Best Stocks for Today

Experts extracted 7 stocks from the list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys that has beaten the market more than 2X over with a stunning average gain of +24.1% per year.

These 7 were selected because of their superior potential for immediate breakout.

See these time-sensitive tickers now >>

Published in