Barclays Increases Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) Price Target to $245.00

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) had its target price upped by Barclays from $229.00 to $245.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $231.57.

Ferguson Stock Down 5.6 %

FERG stock opened at $196.52 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.48, a PEG ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 1.21. 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 one year low of $147.62 and a one year high of $225.63. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $204.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $206.82.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.12. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.33% and a return on equity of 36.89%. The company had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.77 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ferguson will post 9.63 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, June 4th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.54%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ferguson

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the 4th quarter valued at about $732,000. UBS Group AG raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 104.4% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 213,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,127,000 after purchasing an additional 108,820 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $384,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 20.4% in the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 348,610 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,306,000 after purchasing an additional 59,185 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 27.8% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 13,070 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,523,000 after purchasing an additional 2,841 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

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.