Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) Receives $222.40 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $220.10.

A number of brokerages recently commented on FERG. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $193.00 target price (down from $230.00) on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $230.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $219.00 target price on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Berenberg Bank upped their target price 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, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Ferguson from $234.00 to $211.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. BOKF NA grew its stake in Ferguson by 236.7% in the 2nd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 1,899 shares of the company’s stock valued at $368,000 after buying an additional 1,335 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 9.2% in the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $413,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Ferguson by 38.1% in the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,393,000 after purchasing an additional 6,255 shares in the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 7.5% during the 2nd quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 6,580 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,274,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Ferguson by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 45,652 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,841,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Trading Up 0.6 %

NASDAQ:FERG opened at $177.50 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $191.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $198.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.24. Ferguson has a 1-year low of $167.27 and a 1-year high of $225.63.

Ferguson Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This is a boost from Ferguson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Ferguson’s payout ratio is presently 39.86%.

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.