UPDATE: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Downgrades CME Group On Lowered 4Q Estimates

In a report published Monday, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods analyst Niamh Alexander downgraded the rating on CME Group (NASDAQ: CME) from Outperform to Market Perform, but reiterated the $92.00 price target.

In the report, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods noted, “At this time, we can't get enough upside to our price target to command an Outperform rating for this high-quality business. We have 21% volume growth already in the model between now and year end 2016 from an already strong 2014. We expect a fifth dividend range of $1.34 to $1.78 to be announced this month, and we've already built in the potential rebase of trading activity in the rates complex. At a price target of $92 and a target multiple of 21X, we cannot get enough upside to command an Outperform here and see more potential upside in other stocks in our group. We concurrently lower estimates for the fourth quarter after such a very strong October has normalized lower ahead of the expected slow holiday weeks. We lower our 4Q14 EPS estimate to $0.90 from $1.01 and our forward EPS estimates remain unchanged.”

CME Group closed on Friday at $88.74.