Oppenheimer Begins Coverage on Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG)

Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm issued an outperform rating and a $234.00 price objective on the stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Ferguson from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $232.50.

Ferguson Price Performance

NASDAQ:FERG opened at $196.23 on Wednesday. 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 52 week low of $147.62 and a 52 week high of $225.63. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $200.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $204.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.39 billion, a PE ratio of 23.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.20.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $7.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.01 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 36.53% and a net margin of 5.85%. Ferguson’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.77 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ferguson will post 9.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.05%.

Insider Activity

In other Ferguson news, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 1,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $224,271.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.96, for a total value of $527,319.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $224,271.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.22, for a total value of $224,963.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $378,696.04. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,477,901. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ferguson

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson during the first quarter worth $193,000. DGS Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 83.0% during the 1st quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 2,368 shares of the company’s stock valued at $517,000 after acquiring an additional 1,074 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Ferguson by 26.4% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 33,508 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,319,000 after acquiring an additional 6,997 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its stake in Ferguson by 32.5% during the first quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 350,750 shares of the company’s stock worth $76,574,000 after purchasing an additional 86,096 shares during the period. Finally, OneAscent Financial Services LLC increased its stake in Ferguson by 1.9% during the first quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 2,584 shares of the company’s stock worth $565,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.