Wells Fargo & Company Raises Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) Price Target to $232.00

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) had its price target upped by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $225.00 to $232.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 10.97% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also commented on FERG. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Citigroup raised their target price on Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $234.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ferguson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.38.

Ferguson Trading Down 0.9 %

FERG stock traded down $1.86 during trading on Thursday, reaching $209.06. 135,095 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,264,323. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $198.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $203.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.97 billion, a PE ratio of 24.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.00. Ferguson has a 52-week low of $154.61 and a 52-week high of $225.63.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.12. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.85% and a return on equity of 36.53%. The firm had revenue of $7.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.77 earnings per share. Ferguson’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ferguson will post 9.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ferguson news, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.96, for a total transaction of $527,319.04. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $224,271.36. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.22, for a total transaction of $224,963.96. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $378,696.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.96, for a total value of $527,319.04. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $224,271.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,477,901. 0.16% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ferguson

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FERG. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Ferguson by 375.4% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,289,864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,218,032,000 after purchasing an additional 4,966,821 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 589.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,619,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,778,000 after buying an additional 1,384,570 shares during the period. Capital World Investors purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson during the 1st quarter valued at $104,723,000. Waverton Investment Management Ltd increased its stake in shares of Ferguson by 61.0% in the second quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 812,904 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,293,000 after acquiring an additional 308,138 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc acquired a new position in shares of Ferguson in the first quarter worth $57,489,000. 81.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.