IDEX (NYSE:IEX) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

IDEX Co. (NYSE:IEX) shares gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $218.65, but opened at $208.16. IDEX shares last traded at $201.07, with a volume of 20,507 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

IEX has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their price objective on IDEX from $269.00 to $267.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 13th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on IDEX from $245.00 to $241.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of IDEX from $244.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on IDEX from $256.00 to $245.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $241.00.

IDEX Stock Up 0.5 %

The company has a current ratio of 2.97, a quick ratio of 2.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The business has a 50 day moving average of $216.98 and a 200-day moving average of $211.91. The stock has a market cap of $15.18 billion, a PE ratio of 31.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.97.

IDEX (NYSE:IEX) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The industrial products company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.03 by $0.01. IDEX had a net margin of 15.35% and a return on equity of 15.92%. Equities research analysts predict that IDEX Co. will post 7.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

IDEX Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 31st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were given a $0.69 dividend. This represents a $2.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. IDEX’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 42.72%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On IDEX

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of IDEX by 73.8% in the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 139 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. purchased a new position in shares of IDEX during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt lifted its stake in IDEX by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in IDEX by 35.2% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 407 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $85,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of IDEX in the third quarter worth $86,000. 97.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About IDEX

IDEX Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides applied solutions worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Fluid & Metering Technologies (FMT), Health & Science Technologies (HST), and Fire & Safety/Diversified Products (FSDP). The FMT segment designs, produces, and distributes positive displacement pumps, valves, small volume provers, flow meters, injectors, and other fluid-handling pump modules and systems, as well as flow monitoring and other services for the food, chemical, general industrial, water and wastewater, agricultural, and energy industries.