Wolfe Research Initiates Coverage on Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG)

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

Several other analysts have also weighed in on FERG. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Ferguson from $234.00 to $189.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $193.00 price objective (down previously from $230.00) on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Ferguson from $205.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Berenberg Bank raised their price target on shares of Ferguson from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Ferguson from $211.00 to $189.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ferguson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.64.

Ferguson Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FERG opened at $159.82 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $31.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $175.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $190.00. Ferguson has a 1 year low of $152.52 and a 1 year high of $225.63.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.58 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.76 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 34.63% and a net margin of 5.68%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.74 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ferguson will post 9.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ferguson

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ferguson by 32.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 32,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,359,000 after purchasing an additional 7,862 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ferguson by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 778,737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,247,000 after buying an additional 52,776 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Ferguson during the fourth quarter worth $587,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in Ferguson in the 3rd quarter valued at $970,000. Finally, Clean Yield Group lifted its stake in Ferguson by 27.1% during the 4th quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 25,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,506,000 after acquiring an additional 5,534 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.