Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) Given New $236.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) had its price objective hoisted by UBS Group from $228.00 to $236.00 in a report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

FERG has been the topic of a number of other reports. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $232.00 to $229.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ferguson presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $231.57.

Ferguson Stock Down 0.7 %

Ferguson stock opened at $205.52 on Wednesday. Ferguson has a fifty-two week low of $147.62 and a fifty-two week high of $225.63. The stock has a market cap of $41.50 billion, a PE ratio of 22.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $204.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $206.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.68.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $7.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.01 billion. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.33% and a return on equity of 36.89%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.77 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Ferguson will post 9.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be given a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 27th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.54%.

Ferguson announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, June 4th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Ferguson

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FERG. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Ferguson by 375.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,289,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,218,032,000 after acquiring an additional 4,966,821 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in Ferguson by 589.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,619,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $353,778,000 after acquiring an additional 1,384,570 shares during the period. Capital World Investors bought a new stake in Ferguson during the 1st quarter worth approximately $104,723,000. APG Asset Management US Inc. bought a new stake in Ferguson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $89,758,000. Finally, Robeco Schweiz AG bought a new stake in Ferguson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $61,782,000. Institutional investors 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.