Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $287.28

Shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $287.44.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on FERG shares. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Ferguson in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Ferguson from $290.00 to $295.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Ferguson from $290.00 to $270.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Ferguson from $261.00 to $235.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 8th.

Insider Transactions at Ferguson

In related news, insider Kevin Murphy sold 11,259 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.78, for a total transaction of $2,440,726.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 173,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,690,021.14. This trade represents a 6.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Jake Schlicher sold 5,177 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.92, for a total transaction of $1,195,472.84. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 9,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,191,430.80. This trade represents a 35.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,808 shares of company stock valued at $8,571,587. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ferguson

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wedbush Securities Inc. raised its stake in Ferguson by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 1,197 shares of the company’s stock worth $284,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. REAP Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Ferguson by 9.8% in the third quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 581 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. L2 Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ferguson by 5.2% in the second quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 1,109 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ferguson by 3.8% in the second quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $366,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtue Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ferguson by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 1,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FERG opened at $241.73 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $224.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $237.30. Ferguson has a fifty-two week low of $212.13 and a fifty-two week high of $271.64. The company has a market capitalization of $46.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.73.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $3.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.23 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $8.75 billion for the quarter. Ferguson had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 6.82%. Analysts expect that Ferguson will post 11.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 21st were issued a $0.89 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Ferguson’s payout ratio is 41.83%.

Ferguson Company Profile

Ferguson plc (NYSE: FERG) is a value-added distributor of plumbing, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), waterworks, fire protection and other building and industrial products. The company serves professional contractors, municipalities, commercial and industrial businesses, and other customers through a network of branches, distribution centers, showrooms and digital platforms.

Its product offering includes pipes, valves, fittings, plumbing fixtures, water and wastewater infrastructure products, HVAC equipment, fire protection systems, industrial supplies and related tools and services.