Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) Stock Has Consensus Price Target of $287.28

Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $287.44.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on FERG shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Ferguson from $290.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on Ferguson from $261.00 to $235.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Melius Research assumed coverage on shares of Ferguson in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. They set a “hold” rating and a $252.00 target price for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target 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.

Key Ferguson News

Here are the key news stories impacting Ferguson this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup upgraded Ferguson’s stock rating, adding a bullish analyst catalyst for Ferguson plc. The upgrade could support the shares by signaling improved expectations for earnings, valuation, or industry conditions. Ferguson Stock Rating Upgraded by Citigroup
• Neutral Sentiment: The other headlines concern people or organizations named Ferguson—including Sarah Ferguson, Washington Governor Ferguson, a municipal oversight case, and football player Jake Ferguson. They do not relate to Ferguson plc or appear likely to affect FERG’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ferguson

In other news, COO William Thees, Jr. sold 353 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.50, for a total transaction of $79,248.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 31,745 shares in the company, valued at $7,126,752.50. This trade represents a 1.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Ian Graham sold 1,097 shares of the business’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 transaction of $252,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 9,874 shares in the company, valued at $2,271,020. This trade 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 have sold 38,808 shares of company stock worth $8,571,587. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jmac Enterprises LLC bought a new position in shares of Ferguson in the third quarter valued at approximately $423,000. Ascent Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Ferguson by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 13,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,910,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Ferguson by 210.7% in the third quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. now owns 34,754 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,780,000 after acquiring an additional 23,569 shares in the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. grew its position in Ferguson by 2.2% during the third quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 184,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,007,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AIA Group Ltd grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 77.0% during the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 114,523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,495,000 after buying an additional 49,830 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of Ferguson stock opened at $238.04 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.14. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $225.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $237.31. 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 1-year low of $212.13 and a 1-year high of $271.64.

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

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st were paid a dividend of $0.89 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 21st. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.83%.

Ferguson Company Profile

Ferguson plc (NYSE: FERG) is a value-added distributor of plumbing, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), waterworks, fire protection and other building and industrial products. The company serves professional contractors, municipalities, commercial and industrial businesses, and other customers through a network of branches, distribution centers, showrooms and digital platforms.

Its product offering includes pipes, valves, fittings, plumbing fixtures, water and wastewater infrastructure products, HVAC equipment, fire protection systems, industrial supplies and related tools and services.