Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) Price Target Cut to $180.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) had its price objective reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $205.00 to $180.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on FERG. Robert W. Baird set a $190.00 target price on shares of Ferguson and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $211.00 to $189.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $221.00 to $189.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $193.00 target price (down previously from $230.00) on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Ferguson in a report on Monday, February 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $204.00 target price on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.64.

Ferguson Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FERG opened at $155.94 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $31.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $176.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $190.86. Ferguson has a twelve month low of $154.09 and a twelve month high of $225.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last released its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.76 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.74 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Ferguson will post 9.4 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 39.86%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ferguson

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Ferguson during the 4th quarter valued at about $85,343,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Ferguson during the 4th quarter valued at about $86,000. SWAN Capital LLC lifted its stake in Ferguson by 44.2% during the 4th quarter. SWAN Capital LLC now owns 793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC lifted its stake in Ferguson by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 8,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,469,000 after acquiring an additional 458 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in Ferguson by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 722,746 shares of the company’s stock valued at $125,447,000 after acquiring an additional 4,411 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

About Ferguson

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.