Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) Lowered to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Friday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Ferguson from $235.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Zacks Research raised Ferguson to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $247.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on shares of Ferguson from $231.00 to $243.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Ferguson from $260.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $243.75.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of Ferguson stock opened at $251.67 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $240.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.18. Ferguson has a fifty-two week low of $146.00 and a fifty-two week high of $256.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.94.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 16th. The company reported $3.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.48. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.03% and a return on equity of 35.21%. The company had revenue of $8.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.44 billion.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 26th were paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 26th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.55%.

Insider Activity at Ferguson

In related news, insider Ian T. Graham sold 606 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.33, for a total transaction of $145,033.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 7,714 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,846,191.62. This trade represents a 7.28% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider James A. Paisley sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.97, for a total transaction of $710,910.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 2,211 shares in the company, valued at $523,940.67. This trade represents a 57.57% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 29,264 shares of company stock valued at $6,853,349 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ferguson

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 13.5% during the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 57,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,233,000 after buying an additional 6,846 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ferguson by 28.9% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $391,000 after acquiring an additional 547 shares during the period. Wealthquest Corp bought a new position in Ferguson during the first quarter worth $407,000. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Ferguson by 10.5% during the first quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,726 shares of the company’s stock worth $441,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in Ferguson by 0.8% in the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,185,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Company Profile

Ferguson Enterprises Inc distributes plumbing and heating products in North America. The company provides expertise, solutions, and products, including infrastructure, plumbing, appliances, fire, and fabrication, as well as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) to residential and non-residential customers.