Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) Price Target Raised to $280.00

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) had its price objective lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $275.00 to $280.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Ferguson from $247.00 to $273.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Ferguson from $260.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Ferguson from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Ferguson from $268.00 to $289.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $246.71.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of FERG opened at $248.42 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.68. Ferguson has a 52-week low of $146.00 and a 52-week high of $256.93. The company has a market cap of $48.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 1.17. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $242.37.

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

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 26th were issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 26th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.55%.

Insider Transactions at Ferguson

In other Ferguson news, insider Kevin Michael Murphy sold 8,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.13, for a total transaction of $2,060,344.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 159,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,444,645.03. This represents a 5.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider James A. Paisley sold 3,000 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $236.97, for a total value of $710,910.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,211 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $523,940.67. This trade represents a 57.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 29,264 shares of company stock worth $6,853,349. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ferguson

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FERG. 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. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in Ferguson by 0.8% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,185,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in Ferguson in the first quarter worth $843,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Ferguson by 15.9% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,989,999 shares of the company’s stock valued at $479,088,000 after purchasing an additional 411,088 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 4.4% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,168,743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,071,408,000 after purchasing an additional 806,718 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

About Ferguson

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.