Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Oppenheimer Analyst Says

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) had its target price upped by Oppenheimer from $86.00 to $89.00 in a report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the financial services provider’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $97.00 to $96.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $76.00 to $82.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Nasdaq from $86.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 20th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Nasdaq has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.73.

Nasdaq Price Performance

NDAQ stock opened at $76.98 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.95. The company’s 50-day moving average is $79.29 and its 200-day moving average is $73.12. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.25 billion, a PE ratio of 46.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.98. Nasdaq has a 1 year low of $54.90 and a 1 year high of $83.77.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The financial services provider reported $0.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.05. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 14.56% and a net margin of 13.67%. The business had revenue of $1.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.71 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Nasdaq will post 2.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.25%. Nasdaq’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, EVP Jeremy Skule sold 12,075 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.75, for a total value of $950,906.25. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 102,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,072,268.75. This trade represents a 10.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Pc Nelson Griggs sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.71, for a total value of $454,260.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 215,563 shares in the company, valued at $16,320,274.73. This represents a 2.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 49,459 shares of company stock worth $3,811,808 over the last three months. 0.70% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Nasdaq

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Founders Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Nasdaq during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Claro Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Nasdaq during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Focused Wealth Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Nasdaq during the third quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Nasdaq in the third quarter worth $42,000. Institutional investors own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

About Nasdaq

Nasdaq, Inc operates as a technology company that serves capital markets and other industries worldwide. It operates in three segments: Capital Access Platforms, Financial Technology, and Market Services. The Capital Access Platforms segment sells and distributes historical and real-time market data; and develops and licenses Nasdaq-branded indices and financial products.