Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) Price Target Cut to $168.00 by Analysts at Citigroup

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) had its price target lowered by Citigroup from $189.00 to $168.00 in a research report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on FERG. Robert W. Baird set a $190.00 price target on shares of Ferguson and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Ferguson from $205.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Berenberg Bank raised their price target on shares of Ferguson from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Ferguson in a report on Monday, February 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $204.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Ferguson from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $185.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.64.

Ferguson Trading Down 0.7 %

FERG opened at $155.94 on Wednesday. Ferguson has a twelve month low of $154.09 and a twelve month high of $225.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The company has a fifty day moving average of $176.55 and a 200-day moving average of $190.86. The stock has a market cap of $31.18 billion, a PE ratio of 18.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.76 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 34.63% and a net margin of 5.68%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.74 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Ferguson will post 9.4 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is 39.86%.

Institutional Trading of Ferguson

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Ferguson by 32.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 32,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,359,000 after acquiring an additional 7,862 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in Ferguson in the third quarter worth about $970,000. Clean Yield Group increased its stake in shares of Ferguson by 27.1% in the fourth quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 25,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,506,000 after purchasing an additional 5,534 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson in the fourth quarter worth about $587,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ferguson by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 778,737 shares of the company’s stock worth $135,247,000 after purchasing an additional 52,776 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.