Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) Price Target to $189.00

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) had its price target reduced by Royal Bank of Canada from $211.00 to $189.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Ferguson in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $204.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America upgraded Ferguson from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $185.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays lowered their target price on Ferguson from $211.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Ferguson from $215.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Ferguson from $221.00 to $189.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.64.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of FERG opened at $159.82 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Ferguson has a one year low of $152.52 and a one year high of $225.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.19, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28. The business has a fifty day moving average of $175.89 and a 200 day moving average of $190.23.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.58 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.76 billion. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 34.63%. Ferguson’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.74 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ferguson will post 9.4 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 39.86%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ferguson

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC increased its stake in Ferguson by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,007,892 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,740,049,000 after acquiring an additional 1,539,889 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Ferguson by 25.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,991,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,039,935,000 after acquiring an additional 1,231,120 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its stake in Ferguson by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,935,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $856,746,000 after acquiring an additional 62,887 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 3.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,541,079 shares of the company’s stock valued at $905,230,000 after buying an additional 161,662 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 944.4% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 3,537,155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $613,944,000 after buying an additional 3,198,477 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.