CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The financial services provider reported $2.52 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.06, Zacks reports. CME Group had a return on equity of 13.39% and a net margin of 57.34%.

CME Group Price Performance

Shares of CME opened at $248.96 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $235.74 and its 200 day moving average is $225.08. CME Group has a 12-month low of $190.70 and a 12-month high of $253.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market cap of $89.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.18, a P/E/G ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.57.

CME Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be issued a $1.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. This represents a $5.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. This is a positive change from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.37%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of CME Group in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup downgraded CME Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $250.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of CME Group from $260.00 to $256.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $229.67.

CME Group declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, December 5th that permits the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to purchase up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

About CME Group

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.