Royal Bank of Canada Issues Positive Forecast for CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) Stock Price

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) had its price objective raised by stock analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $235.00 to $269.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “sector perform” rating on the financial services provider’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target indicates a potential upside of 7.59% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Barclays raised their target price on CME Group from $257.00 to $263.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of CME Group from $245.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on shares of CME Group from $227.00 to $226.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price objective on CME Group from $250.00 to $258.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Four investment 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 $234.07.

CME Group Trading Up 0.4 %

NASDAQ:CME traded up $1.05 on Thursday, reaching $250.01. 687,555 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,844,445. The business has a fifty day moving average of $235.74 and a 200-day moving average of $225.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. CME Group has a 52-week low of $190.70 and a 52-week high of $253.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.54 and a beta of 0.57.

CME Group (NASDAQ:CME) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The financial services provider reported $2.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.46 by $0.06. CME Group had a net margin of 57.34% and a return on equity of 13.39%. As a group, analysts expect that CME Group will post 10.18 earnings per share for the current year.

CME Group announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Thursday, December 5th that authorizes the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the financial services provider to buy up to 3.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CME Group

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in CME Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. boosted its stake in shares of CME Group by 570.6% in the fourth quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 114 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in CME Group by 188.4% during the 3rd quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 124 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its position in CME Group by 50.0% in the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 129 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in shares of CME Group in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 87.75% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.