IDEX Corporation (NYSE:IEX) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of IDEX Corporation (NYSE:IEX) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seven brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $203.2857.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on IEX. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of IDEX from $197.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, December 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $211.00 price objective on shares of IDEX in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of IDEX in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Oppenheimer set a $210.00 price target on IDEX in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of IDEX from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On IDEX

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of IDEX by 3.4% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 1,646 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $298,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of IDEX by 41.1% in the 4th quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 199 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its holdings in IDEX by 2.0% during the second quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 3,112 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $546,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in IDEX by 61.0% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 198 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of IDEX by 21.5% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 446 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.96% of the company’s stock.

IDEX Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of IEX stock opened at $198.32 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.06, a current ratio of 2.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. IDEX has a fifty-two week low of $153.36 and a fifty-two week high of $221.10. The stock has a market cap of $14.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.00. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $183.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $172.37.

IDEX Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Friday, January 16th were given a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 16th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. IDEX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 44.94%.

About IDEX

IDEX Corporation is a diversified industrial manufacturer specializing in the design, production and distribution of highly engineered fluidics systems, measurement technologies and safety solutions. The company’s core offerings include positive-displacement pumps, flow meters, valves, sampling systems and analytical instruments that serve a wide range of end markets such as water treatment, chemical processing, energy, food and beverage, and life sciences. Through its focus on precision engineering and proprietary material science, IDEX delivers products designed for reliability in demanding applications.

Operations at IDEX are organized into three principal segments.