Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the ten ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $230.44.

Several analysts have recently weighed in on FERG shares. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $234.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $219.00 price target on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Ferguson from $230.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th.

Ferguson Stock Performance

NASDAQ FERG opened at $178.17 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $202.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $201.47. The company has a market cap of $35.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.80. Ferguson has a fifty-two week low of $172.00 and a fifty-two week high of $225.63.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts’ expectations of $8.01 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 34.85% and a net margin of 5.68%. Ferguson’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.77 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Ferguson will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. This is a positive change from Ferguson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. Ferguson’s payout ratio is 39.86%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.22, for a total value of $224,963.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $378,696.04. This trade represents a 37.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Victoria Morrissey sold 1,468 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.20, for a total transaction of $295,361.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,047,246. This represents a 22.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,477,901 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FERG. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Ferguson by 3.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,468,003 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,668,462,000 after buying an additional 288,935 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Ferguson by 375.4% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,289,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,218,032,000 after buying an additional 4,966,821 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,541,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $905,230,000 after purchasing an additional 161,662 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 0.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,197,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $633,409,000 after purchasing an additional 25,677 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,371,954 shares of the company’s stock worth $477,858,000 after acquiring an additional 133,769 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.