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

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

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Ferguson from $230.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $234.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $219.00 price target on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ferguson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $230.44.

Ferguson Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ FERG opened at $185.05 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.00 billion, a PE ratio of 22.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $203.36 and its 200-day moving average is $202.00. Ferguson has a 1 year low of $183.49 and a 1 year high of $225.63.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.12. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 34.85%. The company had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.77 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Ferguson will post 9.4 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. This is a positive change from Ferguson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. Ferguson’s payout ratio is 39.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CMO Victoria Morrissey sold 1,468 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.20, for a total value of $295,361.60. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,271.36. This trade represents a 70.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 12,313 shares of company stock worth $2,477,901. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ferguson

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

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.