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

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

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on FERG shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $295.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Ferguson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $315.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ferguson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Zelman & Associates upgraded Ferguson from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $285.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th.

Ferguson News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Ferguson this week:

• Neutral Sentiment: The latest headlines center on personal and royal-family developments involving Sarah Ferguson, including Epstein-related fallout, charity closures, and speculation about her finances. These stories are unrelated to Ferguson plc’s operations, earnings, or outlook.
• Neutral Sentiment: One article suggests Sarah Ferguson may inherit part of a late ex’s fortune, while another reports on her longtime friend Paddy McNally’s death. These are personal-news items and are unlikely to affect investor sentiment toward Ferguson plc.
• Neutral Sentiment: Several reports about Sarah Ferguson keeping a low profile and her charity shutting down are likely to be ignored by investors in Ferguson plc (FERG) because they do not relate to the industrial distributor’s business performance.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ferguson

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FERG. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,979 shares of the company’s stock valued at $886,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Ferguson by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 3,132 shares of the company’s stock worth $697,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $375,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 7.5% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 690 shares of the company’s stock worth $150,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC grew its position in Ferguson by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 431 shares of the company’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE:FERG opened at $230.36 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $229.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $240.45. Ferguson has a fifty-two week low of $207.64 and a fifty-two week high of $271.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.68 billion, a PE ratio of 26.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.13.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.14. Ferguson had a return on equity of 38.81% and a net margin of 6.98%.The business had revenue of $7.47 billion during the quarter. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.50 earnings per share. Ferguson’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Ferguson will post 11.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, May 5th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

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

About Ferguson

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.