Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) Stock Rating Upgraded by Bank of America

Bank of America upgraded shares of Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) from an underperform rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has $225.00 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of $185.00.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Berenberg Bank boosted their price objective on Ferguson from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Robert W. Baird lowered 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, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $219.00 price objective on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Ferguson from $221.00 to $189.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $222.40.

Ferguson Trading Down 0.0 %

NASDAQ FERG opened at $172.14 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $34.42 billion, a PE ratio of 20.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.24. Ferguson has a 1-year low of $170.93 and a 1-year high of $225.63. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $195.71 and a 200-day moving average of $199.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Ferguson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This is an increase from Ferguson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.86%.

Insider Transactions at Ferguson

In other news, CAO Richard Winckler sold 1,325 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.75, for a total value of $267,318.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $201,750. The trade was a 56.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.22, for a total transaction of $224,963.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $378,696.04. The trade was a 37.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,477,901 in the last ninety days. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FERG. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Ferguson by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,468,003 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,668,462,000 after acquiring an additional 288,935 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,541,079 shares of the company’s stock worth $905,230,000 after purchasing an additional 161,662 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 0.8% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,197,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $633,409,000 after purchasing an additional 25,677 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 133,769 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Ferguson by 10.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,563,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,781,000 after buying an additional 153,757 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.