Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) Stock Price

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) had its target price cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $220.00 to $215.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. UBS Group upped their target price 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 cut their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $230.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Berenberg Bank lifted their target price on Ferguson from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $219.00 price target on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Ferguson from $245.00 to $234.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $230.44.

Ferguson Trading Down 1.5 %

Ferguson stock opened at $174.76 on Tuesday. Ferguson has a 52 week low of $174.34 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 firm has a market capitalization of $34.94 billion, a PE ratio of 20.98, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.21. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $202.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $201.64.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.12. Ferguson had a return on equity of 34.85% and a net margin of 5.68%. The company had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.77 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Ferguson will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. This is a boost from Ferguson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CMO Victoria Morrissey sold 1,468 shares of the firm’s 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 owns 5,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,047,246. This trade represents a 22.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Richard Winckler sold 1,325 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $201,750. This trade represents a 56.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,313 shares of company stock worth $2,477,901 in the last 90 days. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ferguson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Ferguson by 303.7% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,550 shares of the company’s stock worth $904,000 after purchasing an additional 3,423 shares in the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in Ferguson during the 3rd quarter worth about $970,000. Entropy Technologies LP grew its holdings in Ferguson by 66.2% during the 3rd quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 51,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,256,000 after acquiring an additional 20,580 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in Ferguson by 380.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 159,411 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,309,000 after acquiring an additional 126,242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new position in shares of Ferguson in the third quarter worth about $2,528,000. 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.