Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) Now Covered by Analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Research analysts at Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set a “hold” rating and a $174.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 5.47% from the company’s current price.

FERG has been the topic of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $205.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Monday, March 17th. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Ferguson from $234.00 to $189.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $193.00 price objective (down from $230.00) on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $190.00 target price on Ferguson and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ferguson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $198.62.

Ferguson Trading Up 2.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ FERG opened at $164.97 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Ferguson has a twelve month low of $152.52 and a twelve month high of $225.63. The company’s fifty day moving average is $172.66 and its 200-day moving average is $187.10. The stock has a market cap of $32.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.76 billion. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 34.63%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.74 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Ferguson will post 9.4 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ferguson

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC increased its position 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 buying an additional 1,539,889 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 25.9% during the 4th 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 raised its stake in Ferguson by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,935,419 shares of the company’s stock valued at $856,746,000 after acquiring an additional 62,887 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Ferguson by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,541,079 shares of the company’s stock valued at $905,230,000 after purchasing an additional 161,662 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC boosted its position in Ferguson by 944.4% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 3,537,155 shares of the company’s stock worth $613,944,000 after purchasing an additional 3,198,477 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is 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.