Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) Hits New 1-Year Low Following Analyst Downgrade

Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) reached a new 52-week low on Tuesday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $220.00 to $215.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Ferguson traded as low as $183.62 and last traded at $185.18, with a volume of 53325 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $185.69.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $234.00 price target on the stock. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $230.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Ferguson from $245.00 to $234.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $230.44.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ferguson

In other Ferguson news, CAO Richard Winckler sold 1,325 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.75, for a total transaction of $267,318.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,750. The trade was a 56.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 70.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,313 shares of company stock worth $2,477,901. Company insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ferguson

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FERG. CWM LLC increased its stake in shares of Ferguson by 303.7% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $904,000 after acquiring an additional 3,423 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in Ferguson during the third quarter valued at approximately $970,000. Entropy Technologies LP increased its stake in Ferguson by 66.2% in the third quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 51,647 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,256,000 after purchasing an additional 20,580 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Ferguson by 380.6% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 159,411 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,309,000 after purchasing an additional 126,242 shares during the period. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new stake in Ferguson in the third quarter worth $2,528,000. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Trading Down 4.1 %

The company has a market capitalization of $35.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.31, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $202.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $201.83.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.12. Ferguson had a return on equity of 34.85% and a net margin of 5.68%. The firm had revenue of $7.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.77 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.87%. This is a positive change from Ferguson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.86%.

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.