CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest
by Danessa Lincoln · The Markets DailyCME Group Inc. (NASDAQ:CME – Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 5,207,550 shares, a growth of 23.6% from the January 15th total of 4,213,842 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,870,040 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days. Currently, 1.4% of the company’s shares are sold short. Currently, 1.4% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,870,040 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.8 days.
CME Group Stock Performance
CME Group stock opened at $303.23 on Wednesday. CME Group has a twelve month low of $244.43 and a twelve month high of $309.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.02, a current ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a market capitalization of $109.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.17, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.27. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $281.14 and its 200 day moving average is $274.30.
CME Group (NASDAQ:CME – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The financial services provider reported $2.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.75 by $0.02. CME Group had a return on equity of 14.65% and a net margin of 62.45%.The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.64 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.52 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that CME Group will post 10.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
CME Group Increases Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.30 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 10th. This represents a $5.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. This is an increase from CME Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. CME Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 46.59%.
Insider Activity
In other CME Group news, Director Dennis Suskind sold 748 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $224,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,699 shares in the company, valued at approximately $809,700. This trade represents a 21.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director William R. Shepard bought 251 shares of CME Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $278.37 per share, for a total transaction of $69,870.87. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 258,710 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $72,017,102.70. This trade represents a 0.10% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On CME Group
A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CME. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in CME Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,571,447,000. Sanders Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of CME Group during the third quarter valued at $1,006,932,000. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CME Group during the third quarter valued at $636,487,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in CME Group by 746.4% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,049,649 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $559,720,000 after buying an additional 1,807,491 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd purchased a new position in CME Group in the 4th quarter worth about $217,656,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.75% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on shares of CME Group from $311.00 to $310.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of CME Group from $262.00 to $266.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of CME Group from $305.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on CME Group from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on CME Group from $296.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $299.53.
Read Our Latest Research Report on CME
About CME Group
CME Group Inc is a global markets company that operates some of the world’s largest and most liquid derivatives exchanges, including the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) and COMEX. The firm offers futures and options contracts across a broad range of asset classes — including interest rates, equity indexes, foreign exchange, energy, agricultural commodities and metals — and serves a diverse client base of institutional investors, commercial hedgers, brokers and retail participants.
The company’s core services include electronic trading on the CME Globex platform, central clearing through CME Clearing, and distribution of market data, indexes and analytics.