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

Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $230.00.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on FERG shares. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Ferguson from $217.00 to $211.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Ferguson from $232.00 to $229.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ferguson

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FERG. Ascent Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in Ferguson by 32.4% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 766,027 shares of the company’s stock valued at $148,341,000 after buying an additional 187,659 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Ferguson by 22.0% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 5,343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,034,000 after buying an additional 964 shares in the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new position in Ferguson during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,843,000. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 194.4% in the second quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 193,212 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,416,000 after acquiring an additional 127,589 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ferguson Price Performance

FERG stock opened at $206.55 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $41.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.57, a PEG ratio of 6.18 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $202.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $207.06. 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 has a 52-week low of $147.62 and a 52-week high of $225.63.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, June 4th. The company reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $7.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.32 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 36.89% and a net margin of 6.33%. Ferguson’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.20 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ferguson will post 9.66 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. Ferguson’s payout ratio is currently 34.54%.

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.