Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) Receives Consensus Rating of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG – Get Rating) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the sixteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $7,626.33.

Several brokerages recently weighed in on FERG. Bank of America lowered Ferguson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 11th. Berenberg Bank increased their target price on shares of Ferguson from £114 ($138.94) to £128 ($156.00) in a research note on Wednesday, January 11th. Societe Generale cut shares of Ferguson to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 13th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $140.00 to $155.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Ferguson from GBX 9,500 ($115.78) to GBX 9,890 ($120.54) in a report on Wednesday, December 7th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Ferguson in the 4th quarter valued at about $610,247,000. Findlay Park Partners LLP acquired a new stake in Ferguson in the third quarter valued at approximately $348,412,000. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Ferguson by 342.3% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 3,592,353 shares of the company’s stock worth $456,120,000 after acquiring an additional 2,780,118 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Ferguson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $234,993,000. Finally, Trian Fund Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Ferguson by 12.5% in the 2nd quarter. Trian Fund Management L.P. now owns 12,826,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,420,034,000 after purchasing an additional 1,423,880 shares during the last quarter. 52.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Ferguson stock opened at $128.37 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.84 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $141.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $125.02. Ferguson has a 1-year low of $99.16 and a 1-year high of $150.80.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 17th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 16th. Ferguson’s payout ratio is currently 30.43%.

About Ferguson

(Get Rating)

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.