Oppenheimer Lowers Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) Price Target to $189.00

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) had its target price reduced by equities researchers at Oppenheimer from $234.00 to $189.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Oppenheimer’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 21.76% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Ferguson from $215.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Robert W. Baird set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Ferguson and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $221.00 to $189.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $219.00 price target on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Ferguson from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $185.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.64.

Ferguson Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ FERG opened at $155.23 on Wednesday. Ferguson has a 1 year low of $152.52 and a 1 year high of $225.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $176.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $190.62. The company has a market capitalization of $31.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ferguson

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FERG. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Ferguson by 32.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 32,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,359,000 after acquiring an additional 7,862 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Ferguson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $587,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in Ferguson in the third quarter valued at approximately $970,000. Clean Yield Group lifted its stake in Ferguson by 27.1% in the fourth quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 25,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,506,000 after buying an additional 5,534 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Ferguson by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 778,737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,247,000 after buying an additional 52,776 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.