Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) Price Target Raised to $240.00

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) had its price target hoisted by Berenberg Bank from $224.00 to $240.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $219.00 target price on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on Ferguson from $230.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Ferguson from $232.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $234.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $231.00.

Ferguson Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ FERG opened at $187.47 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $203.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $202.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Ferguson has a 1 year low of $183.63 and a 1 year high of $225.63. The firm has a market cap of $37.48 billion, a PE ratio of 20.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.21.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.01 billion. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 34.85%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.77 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Ferguson will post 9.51 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This is an increase from Ferguson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.77%. Ferguson’s payout ratio is currently 37.94%.

Insider Activity at Ferguson

In other news, CMO Victoria Morrissey sold 1,468 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 5,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,047,246. The trade was a 22.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Ian T. Graham sold 5,778 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.27, for a total value of $1,162,938.06. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 5,938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,195,141.26. This represents a 49.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,477,901. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC lifted its position in shares of Ferguson by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 518,867 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,031,000 after buying an additional 46,947 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Ferguson by 6.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,371,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $477,858,000 after acquiring an additional 133,769 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the third quarter valued at approximately $66,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Ferguson during the third quarter worth $112,000. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in Ferguson in the third quarter worth $970,000. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.