Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) Stock Has Average Target Price of $287.28

Shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the nineteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $287.44.

A number of research firms recently commented on FERG. Melius Research assumed coverage on Ferguson in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. They set a “hold” rating and a $252.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Tuesday, September 29th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $285.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $295.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Ferguson from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $285.00 to $288.00 in a research note on Tuesday.

Insider Activity at Ferguson

In other news, insider Kevin Murphy sold 11,259 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction on Monday, October 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.78, for a total value of $2,440,726.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 173,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,690,021.14. The trade was a 6.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Jake Schlicher sold 5,177 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $230.92, for a total value of $1,195,472.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,191,430.80. This trade represents a 35.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,808 shares of company stock worth $8,571,587. Company insiders own 0.15% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ferguson in the second quarter worth about $1,789,368,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 2.1% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,107,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,424,075,000 after acquiring an additional 125,317 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in Ferguson by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,619,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,100,474,000 after purchasing an additional 48,544 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Ferguson by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,055,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $487,796,000 after purchasing an additional 16,866 shares during the period. Finally, W1M Asset Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 6.2% in the second quarter. W1M Asset Management Ltd now owns 1,980,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $469,945,000 after purchasing an additional 116,418 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ferguson Price Performance

Ferguson stock opened at $240.40 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $225.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $237.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.51 billion, a PE ratio of 28.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.14. Ferguson has a 52 week low of $212.13 and a 52 week high of $271.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last announced its earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $3.39 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.23 by $0.16. Ferguson had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 6.82%. The firm had revenue of $8.75 billion for the quarter. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ferguson will post 11.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Investors of record on Friday, August 21st were given a dividend of $0.89 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 21st. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.83%.

About Ferguson

Ferguson plc (NYSE: FERG) is a value-added distributor of plumbing, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), waterworks, fire protection and other building and industrial products. The company serves professional contractors, municipalities, commercial and industrial businesses, and other customers through a network of branches, distribution centers, showrooms and digital platforms.

Its product offering includes pipes, valves, fittings, plumbing fixtures, water and wastewater infrastructure products, HVAC equipment, fire protection systems, industrial supplies and related tools and services.