Wells Fargo & Company Lowers Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) Price Target to $225.00

by · The Markets Daily

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG – Free Report) had its price objective trimmed by Wells Fargo & Company from $250.00 to $225.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group upped their target price on Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Ferguson from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ferguson has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $231.57.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on FERG

Ferguson Trading Down 5.6 %

NASDAQ:FERG opened at $196.52 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $204.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $206.95. The stock has a market cap of $39.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.48, a P/E/G ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 1.21. Ferguson has a 1 year low of $147.62 and a 1 year high of $225.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.68.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.01 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 36.89% and a net margin of 6.33%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.77 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ferguson will post 9.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.54%.

Ferguson declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, June 4th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ferguson

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 80.1% during the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 32,811 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,166,000 after buying an additional 14,590 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Ferguson by 14.5% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 75,505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,493,000 after purchasing an additional 9,562 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ferguson in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,834,000. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in Ferguson by 20.8% in the 4th quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 60,406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,663,000 after purchasing an additional 10,406 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in Ferguson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $732,000. 81.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ferguson

(Get Free Report)

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.

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