Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) Sets New 12-Month Low After Analyst Downgrade

Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday after Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on the stock from $220.00 to $215.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Ferguson traded as low as $183.62 and last traded at $185.18, with a volume of 53325 shares. The stock had previously closed at $185.69.

FERG has been the subject of several other research reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Ferguson from $230.00 to $225.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Berenberg Bank boosted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Ferguson from $245.00 to $234.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ferguson presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $230.44.

Insider Transactions at Ferguson

In other news, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.22, for a total value of $224,963.96. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $378,696.04. This represents a 37.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ian T. Graham sold 5,778 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.27, for a total value of $1,162,938.06. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,938 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,195,141.26. The trade was a 49.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,477,901 in the last three months. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ferguson

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 3.5% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,468,003 shares of the company's stock worth $1,668,462,000 after purchasing an additional 288,935 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 375.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,289,864 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,218,032,000 after acquiring an additional 4,966,821 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 3.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,541,079 shares of the company's stock worth $905,230,000 after acquiring an additional 161,662 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 0.8% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,197,621 shares of the company's stock valued at $633,409,000 after purchasing an additional 25,677 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Ferguson by 6.0% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,371,954 shares of the company's stock valued at $477,858,000 after purchasing an additional 133,769 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ferguson Stock Down 0.3 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. The company has a market cap of $37.00 billion, a PE ratio of 22.22, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.21. The company's fifty day moving average is $203.55 and its 200-day moving average is $202.15.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.01 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 34.85% and a net margin of 5.68%. Ferguson's revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.77 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This is an increase from Ferguson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Ferguson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.94%.

Ferguson Company Profile

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.