Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) Competitors

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE) and Moody's (NYSE:MCO) are both large-cap finance companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, community ranking, earnings, dividends, media sentiment, risk and analyst recommendations.

Does the media refer more to ICE or MCO?

In the previous week, Intercontinental Exchange had 7 more articles in the media than Moody's. MarketBeat recorded 36 mentions for Intercontinental Exchange and 29 mentions for Moody's. Intercontinental Exchange's average media sentiment score of 1.10 beat Moody's' score of 1.09 indicating that Intercontinental Exchange is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Intercontinental Exchange	26 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Moody's	18 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	6 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	1 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do insiders & institutionals hold more shares of ICE or MCO?

89.3% of Intercontinental Exchange shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.1% of Moody's shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of Intercontinental Exchange shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Moody's shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is ICE or MCO a better dividend stock?

Intercontinental Exchange pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. Moody's pays an annual dividend of $3.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Intercontinental Exchange pays out 42.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Moody's pays out 31.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Moody's has raised its dividend for 15 consecutive years.

Is ICE or MCO more profitable?

Moody's has a net margin of 29.05% compared to Intercontinental Exchange's net margin of 21.31%. Moody's' return on equity of 57.97% beat Intercontinental Exchange's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Intercontinental Exchange	21.31%	12.75%	2.50%
Moody's	29.05%	57.97%	14.60%

Which has better earnings & valuation, ICE or MCO?

Intercontinental Exchange has higher revenue and earnings than Moody's. Intercontinental Exchange is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Moody's, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Intercontinental Exchange	$9.90B	8.92	$2.37B	$4.22	36.44
Moody's	$5.92B	14.80	$1.61B	$10.95	44.13

Do analysts rate ICE or MCO?

Intercontinental Exchange presently has a consensus price target of $175.27, suggesting a potential upside of 13.96%. Moody's has a consensus price target of $507.36, suggesting a potential upside of 4.99%. Given Intercontinental Exchange's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Intercontinental Exchange is more favorable than Moody's.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Intercontinental Exchange	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	13 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.87
Moody's	1 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.53

Which has more volatility and risk, ICE or MCO?

Intercontinental Exchange has a beta of 1.1, indicating that its share price is 10% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Moody's has a beta of 1.3, indicating that its share price is 30% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the MarketBeat Community favor ICE or MCO?

Intercontinental Exchange received 297 more outperform votes than Moody's when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 72.05% of users gave Intercontinental Exchange an outperform vote while only 59.28% of users gave Moody's an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Intercontinental Exchange	Outperform Votes 843 72.05%	Underperform Votes 327 27.95%
Moody's	Outperform Votes 546 59.28%	Underperform Votes 375 40.72%

Summary

Intercontinental Exchange beats Moody's on 11 of the 21 factors compared between the two stocks.