Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) Reaches New 52-Week Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $220.00 to $215.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Ferguson traded as low as $183.62 and last traded at $185.18, with a volume of 53325 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $185.69.

FERG has been the subject of several other reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Ferguson from $230.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $219.00 target price on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Berenberg Bank boosted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Ferguson from $245.00 to $234.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $230.44.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Richard Winckler sold 1,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.75, for a total transaction of $267,318.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $201,750. This represents a 56.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.22, for a total transaction of $224,963.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,882 shares in the company, valued at $378,696.04. This represents a 37.27 % 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 worth $2,477,901 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ferguson

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased 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 last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Ferguson by 423.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,462,836 shares of the company’s stock valued at $290,475,000 after acquiring an additional 1,183,143 shares during the last quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 133.3% in the third quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 700,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,999,000 after purchasing an additional 400,000 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its position in Ferguson by 76.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 867,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $172,281,000 after purchasing an additional 377,283 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets purchased a new position in Ferguson during the third quarter worth about $63,420,000. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ferguson Stock Down 0.3 %

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $203.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $202.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a market capitalization of $37.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.21.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.12. Ferguson had a return on equity of 34.85% and a net margin of 5.68%. The business had revenue of $7.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.77 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. This is a boost from Ferguson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.94%.

About Ferguson

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.