Royal Bank of Canada Reiterates “Outperform” Rating for Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG)

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by Royal Bank of Canada in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $189.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target points to a potential upside of 16.60% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on FERG. Robert W. Baird set a $190.00 target price on Ferguson and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Ferguson from $211.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Ferguson in a research report on Monday. They issued a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Zelman & Associates downgraded shares of Ferguson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of Ferguson from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $185.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.64.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FERG traded down $0.48 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $162.09. 482,026 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,875,333. The company has a 50-day moving average of $175.67 and a 200-day moving average of $189.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Ferguson has a 52-week low of $152.52 and a 52-week high of $225.63.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.76 billion. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 34.63%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.74 EPS. Analysts forecast that Ferguson will post 9.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ferguson

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FERG. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Ferguson by 906.7% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in Ferguson by 1,350.0% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 145 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. LGT Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in Ferguson by 106.3% during the 4th quarter. LGT Financial Advisors LLC now owns 198 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Berbice Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Ferguson during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

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.