Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) Stock Price

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) had its price objective dropped by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $232.00 to $220.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 13.25% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $234.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $219.00 price target on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Ferguson from $230.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.25.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ FERG traded down $0.68 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $194.26. 843,860 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,299,250. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $203.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $202.61. The stock has a market cap of $39.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.68, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.21. Ferguson has a one year low of $180.98 and a one year high of $225.63. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

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. The company had revenue of $7.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.01 billion. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.85% and a return on equity of 36.53%. Ferguson’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.77 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ferguson will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ian T. Graham sold 5,778 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.27, for a total value of $1,162,938.06. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,938 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,195,141.26. This represents a 49.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Victoria Morrissey sold 1,468 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.20, for a total transaction of $295,361.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 5,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,047,246. This represents a 22.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,477,901. Corporate insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ferguson by 1.8% during the third quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 3,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $657,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Ferguson by 3.0% during the second quarter. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,035 shares of the company’s stock worth $394,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ferguson by 3.2% during the third quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,952 shares of the company’s stock worth $388,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ferguson by 33.8% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 364 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ferguson by 4.1% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $468,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.