Oppenheimer Cuts Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) Price Target to $189.00

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) had its target price dropped by equities researchers at Oppenheimer from $234.00 to $189.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Oppenheimer’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 21.17% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Zelman & Associates cut shares of Ferguson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Ferguson from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $185.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays lowered their price target on Ferguson from $234.00 to $211.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Ferguson from $221.00 to $189.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Ferguson from $215.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.55.

Ferguson Stock Down 0.6 %

FERG traded down $1.00 on Wednesday, hitting $155.98. 469,351 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,819,477. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.68. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $176.90 and its 200-day moving average is $191.11. The company has a market cap of $31.19 billion, a PE ratio of 18.72, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28. Ferguson has a 12 month low of $154.09 and a 12 month high of $225.63.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by ($0.06). Ferguson had a return on equity of 34.63% and a net margin of 5.68%. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.76 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.74 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Ferguson will post 9.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Ferguson

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FERG. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in Ferguson during the 4th quarter worth $85,343,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ferguson in the fourth quarter valued at about $86,000. SWAN Capital LLC increased its position in Ferguson by 44.2% during the fourth quarter. SWAN Capital LLC now owns 793 shares of the company’s stock worth $138,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC increased its position in Ferguson by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 8,466 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,469,000 after acquiring an additional 458 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in Ferguson by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 722,746 shares of the company’s stock worth $125,447,000 after purchasing an additional 4,411 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.