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

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a moderately bullish outlook: Ferguson has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating from 19 analysts, with an average 12-month price target of $287.28 versus its recent price of $229.56.
• Recent financial performance exceeded expectations: Ferguson reported quarterly EPS of $3.39, beating the $3.23 consensus estimate, on revenue of $8.75 billion. The company also pays an annualized dividend of $3.56 per share, yielding approximately 1.6%.
• Institutional ownership is high, while insiders have been selling: Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of Ferguson, but insiders sold 38,808 shares worth about $8.6 million over the past three months under pre-arranged trading plans.

Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG - Get Free Report) has received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the nineteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $287.28.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on FERG. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Ferguson in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their target price on Ferguson from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Ferguson from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Zelman & Associates upgraded Ferguson from a "hold" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $285.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 17th.

Ferguson Price Performance

FERG opened at $229.56 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.73. The company has a market capitalization of $44.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.97, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.14. Ferguson has a 1-year low of $212.13 and a 1-year high of $271.64. The company has a 50-day moving average of $226.00 and a 200-day moving average of $237.26.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $3.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.23 by $0.16. Ferguson had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 6.82%. The company had revenue of $8.75 billion during the quarter. Equities analysts expect that Ferguson will post 11.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.89 per share. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st. Ferguson's dividend payout ratio is 41.83%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO William Brundage sold 5,986 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.74, for a total value of $1,309,377.64. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 54,908 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,010,575.92. This trade represents a 9.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO William T. Thees, Jr. sold 3,510 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $772,200.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 32,680 shares in the company, valued at $7,189,600. This represents a 9.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 38,808 shares of company stock worth $8,571,587 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ferguson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the second quarter valued at $1,789,368,000. Man Group plc grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 613.8% during the second quarter. Man Group plc now owns 401,395 shares of the company's stock valued at $95,263,000 after buying an additional 345,165 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Ferguson by 43.6% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,029,896 shares of the company's stock valued at $240,234,000 after buying an additional 312,756 shares during the period. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. raised its position in Ferguson by 31.5% during the second quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 919,100 shares of the company's stock valued at $218,130,000 after buying an additional 220,168 shares during the period. Finally, Amundi raised its position in Ferguson by 17.3% during the first quarter. Amundi now owns 1,321,070 shares of the company's stock valued at $308,198,000 after buying an additional 195,047 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company's stock.

About Ferguson

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.

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