Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) Earns Outperform Rating from Analysts at Oppenheimer

Stock analysts at Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG - Get Free Report) in a report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage set an "outperform" rating and a $234.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer's price target would indicate a potential upside of 19.29% from the company's previous close.

FERG has been the topic of several other research reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Ferguson from $225.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Ferguson from $250.00 to $225.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Citigroup increased their price target on Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $232.50.

Ferguson Trading Down 1.8 %

NASDAQ FERG opened at $196.16 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Ferguson has a 52 week low of $147.62 and a 52 week high of $225.63. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $200.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $204.87. The company has a market cap of $39.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.20.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.12. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.85% and a return on equity of 36.53%. The business had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.01 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.77 EPS. Ferguson's quarterly revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ferguson will post 9.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ferguson

In related news, CMO Victoria Morrissey sold 1,468 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.20, for a total transaction of $295,361.60. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,205 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,047,246. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Ian T. Graham sold 5,778 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.27, for a total transaction of $1,162,938.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 5,938 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,195,141.26. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Victoria Morrissey sold 1,468 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.20, for a total transaction of $295,361.60. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,205 shares in the company, valued at $1,047,246. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. 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 90 days. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Ferguson by 375.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,289,864 shares of the company's stock worth $1,218,032,000 after buying an additional 4,966,821 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Ferguson by 589.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,619,637 shares of the company's stock valued at $353,778,000 after acquiring an additional 1,384,570 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson during the first quarter worth about $104,723,000. Waverton Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 61.0% during the second quarter. Waverton Investment Management Ltd now owns 812,904 shares of the company's stock worth $157,293,000 after purchasing an additional 308,138 shares in the last quarter. Finally, M&G Plc bought a new position in shares of Ferguson in the first quarter worth approximately $57,489,000. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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