Brokerages Set Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) Price Target at $232.50

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

Several brokerages have recently commented on FERG. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Ferguson from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays increased their target price on Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th.

Ferguson Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FERG opened at $210.82 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The business has a fifty day moving average of $198.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $203.46. The stock has a market cap of $42.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.77, a PEG ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.20. Ferguson has a 52-week low of $154.61 and a 52-week high of $225.63.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.12. Ferguson had a return on equity of 36.53% and a net margin of 5.85%. The business had revenue of $7.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.77 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, 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 will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.05%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ferguson news, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.22, for a total transaction of $224,963.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,882 shares in the company, valued at $378,696.04. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Ferguson news, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.22, for a total transaction of $224,963.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,882 shares in the company, valued at $378,696.04. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Richard Winckler sold 1,325 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.75, for a total value of $267,318.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $201,750. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,313 shares of company stock worth $2,477,901 in the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Asset Dedication LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new position in Ferguson during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Ferguson during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Ferguson during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Ferguson during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Hedge funds and other 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.