Jefferies Financial Group Upgrades Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) to Strong-Buy

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) was upgraded by Jefferies Financial Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Thursday, Zacks reports.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on FERG. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $261.00 price objective on shares of Ferguson in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Zelman & Associates raised Ferguson from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $285.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on Ferguson from $281.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ferguson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $285.57.

Ferguson Trading Up 2.4%

Shares of Ferguson stock opened at $228.53 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $235.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $238.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Ferguson has a 12-month low of $207.64 and a 12-month high of $271.64. The company has a market cap of $44.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.85, a PEG ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.13.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $3.39 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.23 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $8.75 billion for the quarter. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.82% and a return on equity of 37.24%. On average, equities analysts expect that Ferguson will post 11.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Ferguson

In other news, insider Jake Schlicher sold 5,177 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.92, for a total value of $1,195,472.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 9,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,191,430.80. This represents a 35.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.15% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ferguson

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FERG. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of Ferguson by 23,684.2% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 69,745,828 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,552,777,000 after buying an additional 69,452,584 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 5,631,554 shares in the last quarter. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new position in Ferguson during the second quarter valued at $1,789,368,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Ferguson by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,107,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,424,075,000 after acquiring an additional 125,317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in Ferguson by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,516,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,005,567,000 after acquiring an additional 79,296 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.