Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) Research Coverage Started at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) in a report issued on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $204.00 target price on the stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on FERG. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Ferguson from $230.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Ferguson from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Zelman & Associates cut Ferguson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. They set an “outperform” rating and a $234.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $219.00 target price on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ferguson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.73.

Ferguson Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of Ferguson stock opened at $183.31 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.24. Ferguson has a 52-week low of $167.27 and a 52-week high of $225.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.68. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $185.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $196.59.

Ferguson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 20th will be issued a $0.83 dividend. This is a positive change 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 1.81%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.86%.

Institutional Trading of Ferguson

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC lifted its stake in Ferguson by 111.1% during the fourth quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC now owns 33,568 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,827,000 after purchasing an additional 17,669 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Ferguson by 18.6% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,825 shares of the company’s stock valued at $317,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 24.5% in the 4th quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 2,111,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $366,523,000 after acquiring an additional 415,002 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 7,335 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,273,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in Ferguson by 92.5% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 258 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. 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.