Robert W. Baird Increases Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) Price Target to $230.00

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) had its price objective boosted by Robert W. Baird from $225.00 to $230.00 in a report released on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

FERG has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Ferguson from $250.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $232.29.

Ferguson Stock Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ:FERG opened at $204.48 on Wednesday. Ferguson has a 1 year low of $147.62 and a 1 year high of $225.63. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $200.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $205.11. The stock has a market cap of $41.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.10, a PEG ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.01 billion. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.85% and a return on equity of 36.53%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.77 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ferguson will post 9.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.05%.

Insider Transactions at Ferguson

In related news, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.22, for a total value of $224,963.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $378,696.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $378,696.04. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ian T. Graham sold 5,778 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.27, for a total transaction of $1,162,938.06. Following the sale, the insider now owns 5,938 shares in the company, valued at $1,195,141.26. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,477,901. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ferguson

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FERG. OneAscent Financial Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 1.9% during the first quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 2,584 shares of the company’s stock worth $565,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Ferguson by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $342,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its position in Ferguson by 1.8% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 3,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $686,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 3.0% during the second quarter. Transatlantique Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,035 shares of the company’s stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 3.8% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,130 shares of the company’s stock worth $412,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.