Ferguson's (FERG) "Peer Perform" Rating Reaffirmed at Wolfe Research

Key Points

• Wolfe Research reaffirmed its “Peer Perform” rating on Ferguson, while the broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $285.57.
• Ferguson’s shares opened at $222.48, below their 52-week high of $271.64. The company recently exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting EPS of $3.39 versus the $3.23 consensus estimate on $8.75 billion in revenue.
• Institutional investors own approximately 81.98% of Ferguson’s stock, with several large funds increasing their positions; an insider separately sold 5,177 shares worth about $1.20 million.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "peer perform" rating restated by equities researchers at Wolfe Research in a research note issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on FERG. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Ferguson from $280.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $295.00 price objective on Ferguson in a report on Thursday, September 3rd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $297.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $281.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ferguson from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $285.57.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of Ferguson stock opened at $222.48 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The firm has a market cap of $43.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $234.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $236.65. Ferguson has a fifty-two week low of $207.64 and a fifty-two week high of $271.64.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $3.39 earnings per share (EPS) 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 return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 6.82%. Sell-side analysts predict that Ferguson will post 11.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Ferguson

In other Ferguson news, insider Jake Schlicher sold 5,177 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.92, for a total transaction of $1,195,472.84. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,490 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,191,430.80. This trade represents a 35.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Ferguson

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Ferguson by 23,684.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 69,452,584 shares during the period. Jupiter Topco LLC bought a new position in Ferguson during the second quarter worth about $1,789,368,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in Ferguson by 2.1% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,107,108 shares of the company's stock worth $1,424,075,000 after acquiring an additional 125,317 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Ferguson by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,393,603 shares of the company's stock worth $977,959,000 after purchasing an additional 25,785 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in Ferguson by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,868,181 shares of the company's stock worth $668,809,000 after purchasing an additional 240,666 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ferguson Company Profile

Ferguson plc NYSE: FERG is a value-added distributor of plumbing and heating products, water and wastewater solutions, fire protection equipment, HVAC supplies, and related products. The company primarily serves professional contractors and other trade customers, helping them source products, obtain technical support, and manage projects through its distribution network and digital platforms.

Ferguson operates mainly in North America, with businesses serving residential and commercial construction, infrastructure, facilities maintenance, and industrial markets in the United States and Canada.

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