Here's Why You Should Hold Intercontinental (ICE) Stock

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Image: Bigstock Zacks Equity Research December 23, 2022 ICE WRB CBOE KNSL Trades from $1 You follow Analyst Blog - edit You follow Zacks Equity Research - edit Read MoreHide Full Article Intercontinental Exchange's (ICE - Free Report) compelling portfolio, expansive risk-management services, strategic buyouts, solid balance sheet, effective capital deployment and favorable growth estimates make it worth retaining in one's portfolio.ICE, an operator of five cash equity exchanges and two equity options exchanges, has delivered 16 straight years of adjusted EPS increase at a CAGR of 17%.Intercontinental has a solid surprise history, beating earnings estimates in the last five reported quarters.Zacks Rank & Price PerformanceIntercontinental currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Year to date, the stock has lost 25.1% compared with the industry's decline of 36.2%.Image Source: Zacks Investment ResearchGrowth EstimatesThe Zacks Consensus Estimate for Intercontinental's 2023 earnings is pegged at $5.70, which indicates a year-over-year improvement of 6.3% on 4.9% higher revenues of $7.7 billion.The expected long-term earnings growth rate is pegged at 7%.Business TailwindsIntercontinental's top line should continue to benefit from an expansive product and service portfolio. ICE remains focused on improving the mix of high-growth recurring revenues and therefore the Black Knight buyout is in tandem with the growth strategy. ICE estimates 5-6% growth in Fixed Income and Data Services recurring revenues.The Black Knight buyout will also help consolidate ICE's presence as a provider of end-to-end electronic workflow solutions for the rapidly evolving U.S. residential mortgage industry. Intercontinental estimates Mortgage revenues to rise at an average annual growth rate of 8-10% over the next 10 years, while the Mortgage Technology business is expected to grow in the low to mid-teens.Intercontinental has an impressive history of acquisitions that has not only fueled growth but also helped achieve expense synergies. The acquisition of Ellie Mae and the pending Black Knight buyout, once completed, should help ICE capitalize on the opportunities in the $14-billion addressable market.With more than 5,000 indices representing more than $1 trillion in benchmark assets under management, ICE is the second-largest global fixed-income provider.A healthy and minimal risk-based balance sheet is likely to continue providing stability over the medium to long term and support strategic investments.Banking on solid operational performance, ICE's dividends increased at a seven-year CAGR of 12.2%.Stocks to ConsiderSome better-ranked stocks from the finance sector are Kinsale Capital Group, Inc. (KNSL - Free Report) , Cboe Global Markets (CBOE - Free Report) and W.R. Berkley Corporation (WRB - Free Report) .Kinsale Capital's earnings surpassed estimates in each of the last four quarters, the average being15.2%. Year to date, Kinsale Capital has gained 23.2%.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for KNSL's 2023 earnings implies a year-over-year rise of 22.4%. It sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today's Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.The bottom line of Cboe Global surpassed earnings estimates in three of the last four quarters and missed in one, the average beat being 4.92%. Year to date, CBOE has lost 3.7%.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Cboe Global's 2023 earnings indicates an increase of 3.4% and has moved 0.6% north in the past seven days. It carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).W.R. Berkley's earnings surpassed estimates in each of the last four quarters, the average earnings surprise being 25.63%. Year to date, W.R. Berkley stock has gained 36.5%.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for WRB's 2023 earnings per share indicates a year-over-year increase of 11.4%. It carries a Zacks Rank #2. finance

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