Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) Stock Price

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) had its target price cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $205.00 to $180.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $193.00 price objective (down previously from $230.00) on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America upgraded Ferguson from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $185.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Ferguson in a report on Monday, February 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $204.00 target price for the company. Berenberg Bank upped their target price on Ferguson from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Ferguson from $211.00 to $189.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.64.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of FERG stock opened at $159.82 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.68. Ferguson has a fifty-two week low of $152.52 and a fifty-two week high of $225.63. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $175.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $190.23. The company has a market capitalization of $31.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.19, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.58 by ($0.06). Ferguson had a net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 34.63%. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.76 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.74 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Ferguson will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. Ferguson’s payout ratio is 39.86%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ferguson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Ferguson by 32.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 32,025 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,359,000 after purchasing an additional 7,862 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the fourth quarter worth $587,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 778,737 shares of the company’s stock worth $135,247,000 after acquiring an additional 52,776 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the third quarter worth $970,000. Finally, Clean Yield Group grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 27.1% in the fourth quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 25,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,506,000 after acquiring an additional 5,534 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.