Robert W. Baird Increases Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) Price Target to $230.00

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) had its price target increased by research analysts at Robert W. Baird from $225.00 to $230.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 12.15% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on FERG. UBS Group upped their price target on Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Ferguson from $250.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $232.29.

Ferguson Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of Ferguson stock opened at $205.09 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.80. The company has a market capitalization of $41.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.04, a PEG ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 1.20. Ferguson has a 1 year low of $147.62 and a 1 year high of $225.63. The company’s fifty day moving average is $200.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $205.28.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $7.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.01 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 36.53% and a net margin of 5.85%. The business’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.77 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Ferguson will post 9.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Ferguson

In other Ferguson news, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.22, for a total value of $224,963.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $378,696.04. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Ferguson news, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.22, for a total transaction of $224,963.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $378,696.04. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Richard Winckler sold 1,325 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.75, for a total value of $267,318.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,000 shares in the company, valued at $201,750. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,477,901. Insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ferguson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Ferguson by 375.4% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,289,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,218,032,000 after acquiring an additional 4,966,821 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 589.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,619,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $353,778,000 after purchasing an additional 1,384,570 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 10.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,563,558 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,781,000 after purchasing an additional 153,757 shares during the last quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Ferguson by 1.4% in the second quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 1,104,289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $213,846,000 after purchasing an additional 15,700 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Ferguson by 1.9% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 967,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $187,424,000 after purchasing an additional 18,504 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Ferguson

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.