Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) Receives $253.00 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $252.9994.

FERG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Ferguson from $268.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Friday, January 9th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $237.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Thursday, January 8th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ferguson

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ferguson by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,418,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,323,104,000 after acquiring an additional 102,850 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Ferguson by 150.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,366,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,085,256,000 after purchasing an additional 5,631,554 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Ferguson by 0.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,687,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,673,977,000 after purchasing an additional 27,312 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in Ferguson by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 5,981,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,331,621,000 after purchasing an additional 434,650 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in Ferguson by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,516,764 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,005,567,000 after purchasing an additional 79,296 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of Ferguson stock opened at $251.31 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 1.01. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $244.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $239.18. Ferguson has a fifty-two week low of $146.00 and a fifty-two week high of $271.64. The firm has a market cap of $49.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 1.18.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, December 9th. The company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $8.17 billion for the quarter. Ferguson had a return on equity of 35.73% and a net margin of 6.28%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.45 EPS.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a $0.89 dividend. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.96%.

Ferguson Company Profile

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.