CBOE Holdings Announces Pricing Of $300 Million Senior Notes

CBOE Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:CBOE) has recently announced the offering of 1.950% $300 million senior notes, scheduled for expiry in 2019. The company estimates about $298 million net proceeds from this offering.

The company intends to deploy proceeds from the notes to pay back amounts outstanding under its term loan facility.

CBOE Holdings’ debt to equity ratio at first quarter end was 54%. With the new issuance, the ratio is expected to increase 1100 basis points. Also, CBOE Holdings needs to dish out about $5.8 million in interest annually. In the last reported quarter, interest expense, net, was $7.9 million compared with an interest income, net, of $0.7 million in the quarter-ago period.

Nonetheless, the company is well-positioned to service its debts uninterruptedly, banking on operational strength.

It seems a prudent approach by CBOE Holdings to capitalize on the low interest rate environment to procure funds. This in turn decreases its interest burden on borrowings thus facilitating margin expansion. Though the Fed has recently raised rates – three hikes in three consecutive quarters – the rate environment still remains low.

Shares of CBOE Holdings climbed 11.1% quarter to date, outperforming the Zacks categorized Securities and Exchanges industry’s 6.6% increase. The company has also witnessed an increase in estimates over the last 60 days. We believe, CBOE Holdings’ diversified product portfolio and expansion moves should continue to propel growth prospects.

In addition, our proven model states that the Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) company will deliver a positive surprise when it reports second quarter earnings results on Aug 4. This is because Earnings ESP of +1.16% when combined with a favorable Zacks Rank, indicates a positive surprise.

Notably, CBOE Holdings has delivered a positive surprise in the last three quarters. All these put together are expected to drive the shares higher for the company.

Other Stocks to Consider

Investors interested in the finance sector can look at CNA Financial Corporation (NYSE:CNA) , State National Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNC) and Progressive Corp. (NYSE:PGR) . Each stock flaunts a Zacks Rank #1. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

CNA Financial offers commercial P&C insurance products, primarily in the United States. The company has delivered positive surprises in three of the last four quarters with an average beat of 12.45%.

Progressive provides personal and commercial property-casualty insurance, and other specialty property-casualty insurance and related services primarily in the United States. The company has delivered positive surprises in two of the last four quarters with an average beat of 4.95%.

State National Companies provides property and casualty insurance in the United States. The company has delivered positive surprises in two of last four quarters with an average beat of 20.54%.

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