CME Group’s (CME) Buy Rating Reiterated at TD Cowen

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by TD Cowen in a research report issued on Monday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $292.00 price target on the financial services provider’s stock. TD Cowen’s target price indicates a potential upside of 10.97% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also commented on CME. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $316.00 to $323.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of CME Group from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of CME Group from $324.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $286.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their target price on CME Group from $329.00 to $295.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $289.81.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME stock traded down $1.97 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $263.13. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 876,412 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,540,343. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $270.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $272.63. The company has a market cap of $94.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.32, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.24. CME Group has a 1-year low of $218.31 and a 1-year high of $329.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.02.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The financial services provider reported $2.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.68 billion. CME Group had a net margin of 63.30% and a return on equity of 15.60%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.96 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that CME Group will post 12.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at CME Group

In other news, CEO Terrence A. Duffy sold 15,000 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.44, for a total value of $4,116,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 40,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,150,497.20. This trade represents a 26.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Elizabeth A. Cook sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.11, for a total value of $140,055.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 17,916 shares in the company, valued at $5,018,450.76. This trade represents a 2.72% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of CME Group during the second quarter worth approximately $6,749,965,000. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of CME Group by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 16,144,525 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $4,408,747,000 after acquiring an additional 56,725 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,924,475 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,344,776,000 after purchasing an additional 134,242 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in shares of CME Group by 39.1% in the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,019,944 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $1,187,290,000 after purchasing an additional 1,130,587 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of CME Group by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,197,668 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $1,146,593,000 after purchasing an additional 87,411 shares during the last quarter. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

CME Group News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting CME Group this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Record trading volumes support revenue growth. CME Group reported September and third-quarter average daily volume records, with ADV rising 22% and 16%, respectively. Sustained activity across its futures and options markets could improve transaction-fee revenue and reinforce expectations for strong earnings. CME Group Sets September, Q3 Average Daily Volume Records
• Positive Sentiment: Commodity demand remains a tailwind. CME announced record open interest in soybean futures, indicating increased participation and potentially stronger liquidity and fee opportunities in its agricultural products business. CME Group Sets New Open Interest Record in Soybean Futures
• Positive Sentiment: Some institutional investors remain constructive. Cambiar Opportunity Fund’s investor letter described adding to CME on weakness, suggesting confidence in the exchange operator’s long-term earnings and market-structure advantages. CME Group Adding on Weakness
• Neutral Sentiment: Third-quarter earnings expectations are favorable but already reflected in the shares. Analysts anticipate low-double-digit bottom-line growth ahead of CME’s earnings release later this month. CME’s latest quarter also exceeded consensus estimates, but the stock trades at roughly 22 times earnings, leaving less room for disappointment. What You Need to Know Ahead of CME Group’s Earnings Release
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst caution and valuation risk weigh on sentiment. Wall Street analysts reportedly moved the stock to a “Hold” rating, while another analysis questioned whether CME is fully priced after its cryptocurrency-futures expansion. These concerns could restrain gains despite strong trading volumes. CME Group Stock Now Rated Hold

CME Group Company Profile

CME Group Inc operates global derivatives marketplaces that enable customers to manage risk and trade futures and options contracts. Its exchanges offer products linked to interest rates, equity indexes, foreign currencies, agricultural commodities, energy, metals and other asset classes.

The company also provides central counterparty clearing, settlement and related risk-management services for transactions conducted on its markets. In addition, CME Group offers market data, benchmark products and technology services that support trading, analysis and connectivity for financial institutions, businesses, professional traders and other market participants.

CME Group’s history includes the Chicago Board of Trade, founded in 1848, and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, established in 1898.