MSCI (MSCI) Competitors

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

Does the media refer more to ICE or MSCI?

In the previous week, MSCI had 9 more articles in the media than Intercontinental Exchange. MarketBeat recorded 37 mentions for MSCI and 28 mentions for Intercontinental Exchange. Intercontinental Exchange's average media sentiment score of 1.23 beat MSCI's score of 0.81 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	25 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
MSCI	18 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	15 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do analysts rate ICE or MSCI?

Intercontinental Exchange presently has a consensus price target of $174.13, suggesting a potential upside of 11.79%. MSCI has a consensus price target of $631.83, suggesting a potential upside of 8.56%. Given Intercontinental Exchange's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Intercontinental Exchange is more favorable than MSCI.

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
MSCI	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	9 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.60

Is ICE or MSCI more profitable?

MSCI has a net margin of 43.06% compared to Intercontinental Exchange's net margin of 21.31%. Intercontinental Exchange's return on equity of 12.75% beat MSCI's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Intercontinental Exchange	21.31%	12.75%	2.50%
MSCI	43.06%	-162.06%	21.32%

Does the MarketBeat Community favor ICE or MSCI?

Intercontinental Exchange received 298 more outperform votes than MSCI when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 72.12% of users gave Intercontinental Exchange an outperform vote while only 65.85% of users gave MSCI an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Intercontinental Exchange	Outperform Votes 838 72.12%	Underperform Votes 324 27.88%
MSCI	Outperform Votes 540 65.85%	Underperform Votes 280 34.15%

Is ICE or MSCI a better dividend stock?

Intercontinental Exchange pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.2%. MSCI pays an annual dividend of $6.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Intercontinental Exchange pays out 42.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. MSCI pays out 42.0% 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.

Which has more risk and volatility, ICE or MSCI?

Intercontinental Exchange has a beta of 1.08, meaning that its stock price is 8% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, MSCI has a beta of 1.11, meaning that its stock price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has preferable earnings and valuation, ICE or MSCI?

Intercontinental Exchange has higher revenue and earnings than MSCI. Intercontinental Exchange is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than MSCI, 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	$11.40B	7.85	$2.37B	$4.22	36.91
MSCI	$2.80B	16.27	$1.15B	$15.23	38.21

Do institutionals and insiders hold more shares of ICE or MSCI?

89.3% of Intercontinental Exchange shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.0% of MSCI shares are held by institutional investors. 1.1% of Intercontinental Exchange shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.2% of MSCI shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Summary

Intercontinental Exchange and MSCI tied by winning 10 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.