Brokerages Set Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) Price Target at $277.58

Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $277.5825.

FERG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays increased their target price on Ferguson from $295.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Ferguson from $271.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ferguson from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Ferguson from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th.

Institutional Trading of Ferguson

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Ferguson by 150.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,366,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,085,256,000 after acquiring an additional 5,631,554 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Ferguson during the fourth quarter worth about $498,005,000. Durable Capital Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Ferguson during the third quarter worth about $244,561,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its position in shares of Ferguson by 588.1% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,087,523 shares of the company’s stock worth $244,236,000 after acquiring an additional 929,475 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 59 North Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Ferguson by 114.7% during the third quarter. 59 North Capital Management LP now owns 1,255,137 shares of the company’s stock worth $281,879,000 after acquiring an additional 670,473 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ferguson Stock Down 1.1%

FERG stock opened at $238.08 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.68, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 1.15. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $238.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $240.14. Ferguson has a fifty-two week low of $207.64 and a fifty-two week high of $271.64.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $7.47 billion for the quarter. Ferguson had a return on equity of 38.81% and a net margin of 6.98%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.50 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ferguson will post 11.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.89 per share. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is 41.40%.

Ferguson announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, May 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.