Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the six research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation and four have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $221.50.

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Ferguson from $236.00 to $232.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of Ferguson from $217.00 to $211.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 5th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ferguson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Ferguson in the fourth quarter valued at $988,852,000. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Ferguson by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,714,113 shares of the company's stock valued at $524,014,000 after purchasing an additional 118,894 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its stake in Ferguson by 44.9% in the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,371,704 shares of the company's stock valued at $457,905,000 after purchasing an additional 735,270 shares in the last quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Ferguson by 58.4% in the fourth quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,872,863 shares of the company's stock valued at $361,594,000 after purchasing an additional 690,643 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Ferguson by 589.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,619,637 shares of the company's stock valued at $353,778,000 after purchasing an additional 1,384,570 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company's stock.

Ferguson Price Performance

Ferguson stock traded up $0.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $193.65. The company had a trading volume of 1,657,065 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,375,091. Ferguson has a fifty-two week low of $147.62 and a fifty-two week high of $224.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a market cap of $39.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.16, a P/E/G ratio of 8.08 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $207.31 and a 200 day simple moving average of $203.14.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, June 4th. The company reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $7.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.32 billion. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.33% and a return on equity of 36.89%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.20 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ferguson will post 9.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 14th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. Ferguson's payout ratio is 34.54%.

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.