Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) Price Target Lowered to $189.00 at Oppenheimer

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) had its price target decreased by Oppenheimer from $234.00 to $189.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on FERG. Berenberg Bank lifted their price target on Ferguson from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America upgraded Ferguson from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $185.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $193.00 price target (down from $230.00) on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays decreased their target price on Ferguson from $234.00 to $211.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Ferguson from $215.00 to $205.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ferguson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.64.

Ferguson Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of Ferguson stock opened at $155.94 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $176.55 and a 200-day moving average of $190.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company has a market capitalization of $31.18 billion, a PE ratio of 18.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28. Ferguson has a 1-year low of $154.09 and a 1-year high of $225.63.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.58 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.76 billion. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 34.63%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.74 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ferguson will post 9.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 39.86%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ferguson

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in FERG. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 33.8% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 364 shares of the company’s stock valued at $72,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 32.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 32,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,359,000 after buying an additional 7,862 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 14.0% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 491,033 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,504,000 after buying an additional 60,282 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 47.4% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 245,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,652,000 after buying an additional 78,775 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.