Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) Raised to “Buy” at Bank of America

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) was upgraded by stock analysts at Bank of America from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm currently has a $225.00 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of $185.00. Bank of America‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 30.71% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on FERG. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Ferguson from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Berenberg Bank raised their target price on shares of Ferguson from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $219.00 price target on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Ferguson from $245.00 to $234.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $222.40.

Ferguson Price Performance

NASDAQ FERG opened at $172.14 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.67, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.80. The business’s fifty day moving average is $195.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $198.88. Ferguson has a 1 year low of $170.93 and a 1 year high of $225.63.

Insider Activity at Ferguson

In other Ferguson news, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.22, for a total transaction of $224,963.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,882 shares in the company, valued at $378,696.04. This trade represents a 37.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Victoria Morrissey sold 1,468 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.20, for a total value of $295,361.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,205 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,047,246. This represents a 22.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,477,901. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ferguson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CWM LLC grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 3,423 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Ferguson by 32.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 32,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,359,000 after purchasing an additional 7,862 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in Ferguson during the 3rd quarter valued at $970,000. Entropy Technologies LP grew its position in Ferguson by 66.2% in the 3rd quarter. Entropy Technologies LP now owns 51,647 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,256,000 after purchasing an additional 20,580 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 380.6% during the 2nd 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.