Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $233.38.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on FERG shares. Citigroup upped their target price on Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. 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 research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $234.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th.

Ferguson Stock Up 3.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FERG opened at $216.04 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $201.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $202.58. Ferguson has a 52 week low of $166.21 and a 52 week high of $225.63. 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 has a market cap of $43.37 billion, a PE ratio of 25.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.20.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.01 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 36.53% and a net margin of 5.85%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.77 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Ferguson will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th were given a $0.79 dividend. 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 currently 37.05%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Richard Winckler sold 1,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,750. This represents a 56.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 1,882 shares in the company, valued at $378,696.04. The trade was a 37.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,477,901. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ferguson

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FERG. CWM LLC increased its position in Ferguson by 303.7% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $904,000 after buying an additional 3,423 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Ferguson during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,834,000. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Ferguson in the 1st quarter valued at $26,379,000. Entropy Technologies LP grew its position in Ferguson by 66.2% in the 3rd quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 51,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,256,000 after purchasing an additional 20,580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 380.6% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 159,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,309,000 after purchasing an additional 126,242 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

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.