Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) Stock Gets Price Target Boost from Robert W. Baird

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) had its price objective increased by equities researchers at Robert W. Baird from $288.00 to $300.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird‘s price target points to a potential upside of 15.55% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Ferguson from $325.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 18th. Citigroup upgraded shares of Ferguson from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $285.00 to $288.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 27th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. They issued a “peer perform” rating for the company. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $280.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Zelman & Associates raised shares of Ferguson from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $285.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $288.11.

Ferguson Stock Up 11.1%

Ferguson stock opened at $259.63 on Tuesday. Ferguson has a twelve month low of $212.13 and a twelve month high of $271.64. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $226.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $237.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.11.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 9th. The company reported $3.43 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.15. Ferguson had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 6.82%. The firm had revenue of $9.03 billion during the quarter. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ferguson will post 11.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Allison Stirrup sold 922 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total transaction of $207,450.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 7,038 shares in the company, valued at $1,583,550. This trade represents a 11.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Ian T. Graham sold 1,097 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total value of $252,310.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,874 shares in the company, valued at $2,271,020. This represents a 10.00% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 38,808 shares of company stock worth $8,571,587. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ferguson

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FERG. Wedbush Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Ferguson by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc. now owns 1,197 shares of the company’s stock worth $284,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Ferguson by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $129,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 5.2% during the second quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 1,109 shares of the company’s stock valued at $263,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 3.8% during the second quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $366,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtue Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 4.6% during the third quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 1,324 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Company Profile

Ferguson plc is a distributor of plumbing, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), waterworks, and fire protection products. It supplies contractors and other professional customers with products, services, and expertise for residential, commercial, industrial, and infrastructure projects.

The company serves customers primarily in the United States and Canada through branches, distribution centers, and digital channels. Its offerings include pipes, valves and fittings, plumbing fixtures, HVAC equipment, water and wastewater products, and fire protection systems.

Ferguson traces its history to Wolseley, a British company that entered the plumbing and heating distribution business in the 1950s.