Ferguson's (FERG) "Hold" Rating Reaffirmed at Berenberg Bank

Berenberg Bank reiterated their hold rating on shares of Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) in a research note released on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have a $215.00 price objective on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on FERG. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $189.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $173.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $190.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $190.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $214.50.

Ferguson Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of FERG stock traded down $1.58 on Thursday, reaching $214.57. 1,728,273 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,645,475. Ferguson has a 12-month low of $146.00 and a 12-month high of $225.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.68. The company has a market capitalization of $42.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.13. The business's 50 day moving average price is $172.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $178.16.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 3rd. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.44. Ferguson had a return on equity of 34.63% and a net margin of 5.68%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.32 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ferguson will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 20th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 20th. Ferguson's dividend payout ratio is 41.40%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of FERG. Spire Wealth Management acquired a new position in Ferguson during the 4th quarter worth $339,000. Choreo LLC lifted its position in Ferguson by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 5,902 shares of the company's stock worth $1,024,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management acquired a new position in Ferguson during the 4th quarter worth $212,000. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Ferguson by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 40,469 shares of the company's stock worth $7,024,000 after acquiring an additional 1,177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Equitable Trust Co. lifted its position in Ferguson by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 12,250 shares of the company's stock worth $2,126,000 after acquiring an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company's stock.

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.