Robert W. Baird Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) Stock Price

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) had its price objective lowered by Robert W. Baird from $230.00 to $225.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

FERG has been the topic of several other reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Citigroup raised their price target on Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Ferguson from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Oppenheimer began coverage on Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $234.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $232.22.

Ferguson Stock Up 0.0 %

FERG traded up $0.01 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $193.68. 205,632 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,304,655. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $203.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $202.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89. Ferguson has a 12-month low of $180.98 and a 12-month high of $225.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.36, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.21.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.12. Ferguson had a return on equity of 34.85% and a net margin of 5.68%. The business had revenue of $7.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.01 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.77 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Ferguson will post 9.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 a boost from Ferguson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 20th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.94%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ferguson news, CAO Richard Winckler sold 1,325 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.75, for a total transaction of $267,318.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $201,750. This trade represents a 56.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael Jacobs sold 2,624 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.96, for a total value of $527,319.04. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,116 shares in the company, valued at approximately $224,271.36. This represents a 70.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,313 shares of company stock valued at $2,477,901. 0.16% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ferguson

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Asset Dedication LLC bought a new stake in Ferguson during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in Ferguson by 1,350.0% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 145 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new stake in Ferguson during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Ferguson during the third quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Ferguson during the third quarter valued at about $39,000. 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.