Barclays Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) Stock Price

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) had its target price trimmed by Barclays from $245.00 to $234.00 in a research note released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Ferguson from $232.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group increased their target price on Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $219.00 price target on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $234.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.00.

Ferguson Trading Down 1.5 %

FERG opened at $187.49 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.21. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $203.74 and its 200-day moving average is $202.29. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Ferguson has a 52-week low of $183.63 and a 52-week high of $225.63.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 34.85%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.77 EPS. Analysts expect that Ferguson will post 9.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.77%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. This is an increase from Ferguson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. Ferguson’s payout ratio is currently 37.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ferguson

In other Ferguson news, CAO Richard Winckler sold 1,325 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.75, for a total value of $267,318.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $201,750. This trade represents a 56.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $378,696.04. This trade represents a 37.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,313 shares of company stock worth $2,477,901 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Ferguson

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of FERG. Asset Dedication LLC acquired a new stake in Ferguson in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 1,350.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 145 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Ferguson in the third quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Ferguson in the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. 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.