Ferguson’s (FERG) Outperform Rating Reiterated at Royal Bank of Canada

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reiterated by Royal Bank of Canada in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $189.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 16.60% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on FERG. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $193.00 price target (down from $230.00) on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Berenberg Bank upped their target price on Ferguson from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Ferguson in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $204.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America raised Ferguson from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $185.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Ferguson from $189.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.64.

Ferguson Stock Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ:FERG traded down $0.48 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $162.09. The stock had a trading volume of 482,026 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,875,333. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The company has a market cap of $32.41 billion, a PE ratio of 19.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28. Ferguson has a 1-year low of $152.52 and a 1-year high of $225.63. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $175.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $189.70.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.58 by ($0.06). Ferguson had a net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 34.63%. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.76 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.74 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Ferguson will post 9.4 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ferguson

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ bought a new position in Ferguson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $372,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of Ferguson in the fourth quarter valued at about $85,343,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ferguson during the 4th quarter worth about $86,000. SWAN Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Ferguson by 44.2% in the 4th quarter. SWAN Capital LLC now owns 793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Finally, Ascent Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 8,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,469,000 after acquiring an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.