Nasdaq (NDAQ) to Release Quarterly Earnings on Thursday

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) is expected to be releasing its earnings data before the market opens on Thursday, April 24th. Analysts expect Nasdaq to post earnings of $0.74 per share and revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter. Parties that wish to register for the company's conference call can do so using this link.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.02. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 14.82% and a net margin of 15.10%. On average, analysts expect Nasdaq to post $3 EPS for the current fiscal year and $4 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Nasdaq Stock Performance

NDAQ stock traded up $0.49 during trading on Friday, reaching $72.18. 2,606,182 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,828,433. The firm has a market cap of $41.51 billion, a PE ratio of 37.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. Nasdaq has a 1-year low of $58.10 and a 1-year high of $84.15. The company's fifty day moving average price is $75.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.40.

Nasdaq Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Nasdaq's payout ratio is currently 50.00%.

Insider Transactions at Nasdaq

In other Nasdaq news, EVP Sarah Youngwood sold 14,959 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.68, for a total value of $1,102,179.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 59,694 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,398,253.92. The trade was a 20.04 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Bryan Everard Smith sold 657 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.81, for a total transaction of $47,179.17. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 61,980 shares in the company, valued at $4,450,783.80. This represents a 1.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 19,116 shares of company stock valued at $1,434,818. 0.70% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NDAQ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Nasdaq from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley cut Nasdaq from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and set a $74.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Bank of America raised their target price on Nasdaq from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Nasdaq from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Nasdaq from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $85.88.

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.