CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.44 by $0.06, Briefing.com reports. CME Group had a return on equity of 12.32% and a net margin of 57.83%. The company had revenue of $1.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.42 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CME traded up $0.42 during trading on Thursday, reaching $213.01. The stock had a trading volume of 441,144 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,772,359. CME Group has a 52 week low of $175.73 and a 52 week high of $223.80. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $214.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $211.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.68 billion, a PE ratio of 24.33, a P/E/G ratio of 6.09 and a beta of 0.49.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 8th were issued a dividend of $1.15 per share. This represents a $4.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.10. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. CME Group’s payout ratio is presently 51.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on CME shares. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “sell” rating and set a $187.00 target price (up from $185.00) on shares of CME Group in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered CME Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and set a $195.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on CME Group from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Argus raised their price target on CME Group from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on CME Group from $222.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $216.10.

CME Group Company Profile

CME Group Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates contract markets for the trading of futures and options on futures contracts worldwide. It offers futures and options products based on interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, agricultural commodities, energy, and metals, as well as fixed income and foreign currency trading services.