Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) Receives $233.38 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seven have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $233.38.

FERG has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $234.00 target price on the stock.

Ferguson Price Performance

FERG stock opened at $215.93 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.80. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $201.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $202.64. Ferguson has a one year low of $167.09 and a one year high of $225.63. The company has a market capitalization of $43.35 billion, a PE ratio of 25.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.20.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $7.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.01 billion. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.85% and a return on equity of 36.53%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.77 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ferguson will post 9.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th were paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ferguson news, insider Ian T. Graham sold 5,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.27, for a total value of $1,162,938.06. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,195,141.26. This represents a 49.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.96, for a total value of $527,319.04. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,271.36. This trade represents a 70.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,477,901 in the last ninety days. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ferguson

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 375.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,289,864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,218,032,000 after purchasing an additional 4,966,821 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Ferguson by 423.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,462,836 shares of the company’s stock worth $290,475,000 after buying an additional 1,183,143 shares during the period. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP boosted its position in Ferguson by 133.3% during the 3rd quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 700,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,999,000 after acquiring an additional 400,000 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 76.9% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 867,593 shares of the company’s stock valued at $172,281,000 after acquiring an additional 377,283 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets bought a new position in shares of Ferguson in the 3rd quarter worth $63,420,000. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ferguson Company Profile

Ferguson plc distributes plumbing and heating products in the United States and Canada. It offers plumbing and heating solutions to customers in the residential, commercial, civil/infrastructure, and industrial end markets. The company also provides expertise, solutions, and products, including infrastructure, plumbing, appliances, fire, fabrication, and others, as well as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning products under the Ferguson brand name.