Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) Coverage Initiated at Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) in a report issued on Monday. The firm set a “peer perform” rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Ferguson from $234.00 to $189.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Ferguson in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $204.00 target price on the stock. Zelman & Associates cut Ferguson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Ferguson from $189.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $190.00 price target on shares of Ferguson and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.64.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of Ferguson stock opened at $159.82 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $175.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $190.00. Ferguson has a twelve month low of $152.52 and a twelve month high of $225.63. The firm has a market cap of $31.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.68.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.76 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 34.63% and a net margin of 5.68%. Ferguson’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.74 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Ferguson will post 9.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ferguson by 32.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 32,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,359,000 after purchasing an additional 7,862 shares during the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Ferguson during the third quarter worth approximately $702,000. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Ferguson in the third quarter valued at approximately $236,000. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its position in shares of Ferguson by 3.2% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 158,801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,533,000 after buying an additional 4,924 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Ferguson by 3.6% in the third quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 43,135 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,565,000 after buying an additional 1,485 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.