Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eighteen ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $277.2136.

FERG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays boosted their target price on Ferguson from $295.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Ferguson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $315.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded Ferguson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd.

Institutional Trading of Ferguson

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FERG. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,418,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,323,104,000 after buying an additional 102,850 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Ferguson by 150.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,366,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,085,256,000 after buying an additional 5,631,554 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,107,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,424,075,000 after purchasing an additional 125,317 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Ferguson by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,516,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,005,567,000 after buying an additional 79,296 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Ferguson by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,393,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $977,959,000 after acquiring an additional 25,785 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of FERG stock opened at $231.39 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $44.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.78. Ferguson has a 52 week low of $207.64 and a 52 week high of $271.64. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $230.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $240.30.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.14. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.98% and a return on equity of 38.81%. The firm had revenue of $7.47 billion during the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ferguson will post 11.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.89 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is 41.40%.

Ferguson declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, May 5th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Ferguson Company Profile

Ferguson (NYSE: FERG) is a multinational distributor specializing in plumbing and heating products and related building supplies, serving professional contractors, builders and industrial customers. The company supplies a broad range of products used in residential, commercial and infrastructure projects, including pipes and fittings, valves and controls, HVAC equipment, waterworks materials, plumbing fixtures, pumps and accessories, as well as complementary electrical and specialty product lines.

Ferguson operates a network of branches and distribution centers that provide inventory, logistics and value-added services to trade customers.