CME Group Inc. (CME:NASDAQ) is a Chicago-based financial derivatives exchange. They own the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the Chicago Board of Trade, the New York Mercantile Exchange, and The Commodity Exchange. Additionally, they have a 27% stake in S&P Dow Jones Indices.
On November 13, 2023, CME declared a fourth quarter dividend of US$1.10 per share, payable on December 28, 2020 to shareholders on record by December 8.
Two days after the dividend announcement, CME reported that trading of its Micro Henry Hub futures had passed 50,000 contracts since launch. Peter Keavey, Global Head of Energy and Environment Products at CME, said, “Heightened geopolitical events and a wave of new LNG facilities have helped solidify Henry Hub as the center of global gas markets, which has driven an increase in demand for our highly-liquid products. We are pleased to expand our market access with the launch of Micro Henry Hub contracts and help a broader range of traders manage their natural gas exposure with more precision.”
On November 7, CME reported that sentiment among agricultural producers had become slightly more optimistic, as evidenced by a four-point increase to 110 on the Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer and a six-point increase in the Farm Financial Performance Index in October. James Mintert, the director of the Center for Commercial Agriculture at Purdue University, commented, “Farmers in this month’s survey were slightly less concerned about the risk of lower prices for crops and livestock and felt somewhat better about their farms’ financial situation than a month earlier.”
On November 2, CME announced that in October 2022 it had achieved its highest ever interest rate ADV. Other performance metrics saw a 21% increase in interest rate ADV, a 23% increase in options ADV, a 28% increase in energy ADV, a 24% increase in metals ADV, a 26% increase in international ADV, and a 28% increase in agricultural ADV.
This month, Forbes Advisor rated CME as a top crypto stock, noting its average five-year annualized return of 6.22% and its status as one of the oldest exchanges to allow Bitcoin trades. New Constructs also reviewed the group on November 2, 2023, and rated the company “very attractive” in every category.
Grand View Research forecasts that the cryptocurrency market size will grow by 12.5% by 2030, driven by the development of artificial intelligence, the adoption of distributed ledger technology, such as blockchain, and the slow adoption of cryptocurrency by larger institutions.
According to Reuters, management and insiders own approximately 0.21% of CME Group, while institutions own approximately 36.28%.
Investors can purchase CME shares with 359.99 million shares outstanding and 358.27 million free float traded shares. The company has a market cap of CA$76,515.84 million and trades in the 52-week period between CA$164.68 and CA$221.76.
