Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) Receives $230.00 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nine analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation and six have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $231.57.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on FERG. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Ferguson from $250.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Ferguson from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ferguson

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Ferguson during the second quarter valued at approximately $976,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson in the 2nd quarter valued at $536,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in shares of Ferguson by 20.7% in the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 176,231 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,127,000 after acquiring an additional 30,186 shares in the last quarter. Regency Capital Management Inc. DE lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 7.0% during the 2nd quarter. Regency Capital Management Inc. DE now owns 5,166 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ascent Group LLC boosted its position in Ferguson by 11.5% during the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 7,321 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,418,000 after purchasing an additional 753 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Trading Down 0.7 %

FERG opened at $205.52 on Thursday. Ferguson has a 12 month low of $147.62 and a 12 month high of $225.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $204.35 and a 200 day moving average of $206.95. The firm has a market cap of $41.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.46, a P/E/G ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 1.21.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $7.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.01 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 36.89% and a net margin of 6.33%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.77 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ferguson will post 9.63 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Ferguson’s payout ratio is currently 34.54%.

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

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.