Robert W. Baird Boosts Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) Price Target to $225.00

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) had its price objective raised by analysts at Robert W. Baird from $222.00 to $225.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird’s price target suggests a potential upside of 8.65% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on FERG. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Ferguson from $232.00 to $229.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 12th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $230.75.

Ferguson Stock Up 5.0 %

Ferguson stock opened at $207.09 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $41.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.63, a PEG ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Ferguson has a 52 week low of $147.62 and a 52 week high of $225.63. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $204.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $206.95.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.12. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.33% and a return on equity of 36.89%. The firm had revenue of $7.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.77 earnings per share. Ferguson’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Ferguson will post 9.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, June 4th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Ferguson

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FERG. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 375.4% in 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 purchasing an additional 4,966,821 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $353,778,000 after buying an additional 1,384,570 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 10.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,563,558 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,781,000 after acquiring an additional 153,757 shares in the last quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 1,104,289 shares of the company’s stock worth $213,846,000 after acquiring an additional 15,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 975,924 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,422,000 after acquiring an additional 84,390 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is owned by 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.