Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

A number of other research firms have also commented on FERG. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $243.00 price target on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Ferguson from $268.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $250.47.

Ferguson Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE FERG opened at $229.11 on Friday. Ferguson has a 1-year low of $146.00 and a 1-year high of $256.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $241.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.17.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, December 9th. The company reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.77 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $8.17 billion for the quarter. Ferguson had a return on equity of 36.42% and a net margin of 6.28%.The business’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.45 earnings per share.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ferguson news, CAO Richard Winckler sold 1,034 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $232.70, for a total value of $240,611.80. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,458 shares in the company, valued at approximately $339,276.60. This trade represents a 41.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Allison Stirrup sold 969 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.23, for a total transaction of $226,968.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,058 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,184,735.34. This trade represents a 16.08% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 29,264 shares of company stock worth $6,853,349 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ferguson

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 0.9% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,341,871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,211,692,000 after purchasing an additional 173,128 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Ferguson by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,687,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,673,977,000 after buying an additional 27,312 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 65.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 4,454,467 shares of the company’s stock worth $713,740,000 after buying an additional 1,755,464 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,437,468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,000,152,000 after acquiring an additional 81,094 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Ferguson by 2.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,367,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $980,921,000 after acquiring an additional 112,157 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

About Ferguson

Ferguson (NYSE: FERG) is a multinational distributor specializing in plumbing and heating products and related building supplies, serving professional contractors, builders and industrial customers. The company supplies a broad range of products used in residential, commercial and infrastructure projects, including pipes and fittings, valves and controls, HVAC equipment, waterworks materials, plumbing fixtures, pumps and accessories, as well as complementary electrical and specialty product lines.

Ferguson operates a network of branches and distribution centers that provide inventory, logistics and value-added services to trade customers.