Wells Fargo & Company Lowers Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) Price Target to $215.00

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) had its price objective reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $220.00 to $215.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

FERG has been the topic of several other reports. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $219.00 price objective on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Berenberg Bank upped their target price on Ferguson from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup increased their target price on Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Ferguson from $230.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $230.44.

Ferguson Price Performance

NASDAQ:FERG opened at $185.05 on Tuesday. 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 has a 12-month low of $183.49 and a 12-month high of $225.63. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $203.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $202.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.21.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $7.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.77 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate 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 dividend of $0.83 per share. This is a positive change from Ferguson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is 39.86%.

Insider Activity at Ferguson

In related news, 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 value of $267,318.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $201,750. This trade represents a 56.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.96, for a total transaction of $527,319.04. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,271.36. This represents a 70.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,477,901 over the last quarter. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ferguson

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Asset Dedication LLC acquired a new stake in Ferguson in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 1,350.0% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 145 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Ferguson during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

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.