Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) Price Target to $260.00

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) had its price target reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $285.00 to $260.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ferguson in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on Ferguson from $247.00 to $271.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Ferguson from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, March 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Ferguson from $237.00 to $246.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Ferguson from $220.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ferguson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $267.27.

Ferguson Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE FERG opened at $257.26 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Ferguson has a 52 week low of $158.68 and a 52 week high of $271.64. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $243.78 and its 200 day moving average is $240.69. The company has a market cap of $50.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.99, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.21.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.24 by ($0.25). Ferguson had a return on equity of 40.37% and a net margin of 6.93%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.52 earnings per share. Ferguson’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a $0.89 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.96%.

Institutional Trading of Ferguson

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,418,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,323,104,000 after buying an additional 102,850 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 150.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,366,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,085,256,000 after buying an additional 5,631,554 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 5,981,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,331,621,000 after buying an additional 434,650 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,516,764 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,005,567,000 after buying an additional 79,296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,393,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $977,959,000 after buying an additional 25,785 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ferguson Company Profile

Ferguson (NYSE: FERG) is a multinational distributor specializing in plumbing and heating products and related building supplies, serving professional contractors, builders and industrial customers. The company supplies a broad range of products used in residential, commercial and infrastructure projects, including pipes and fittings, valves and controls, HVAC equipment, waterworks materials, plumbing fixtures, pumps and accessories, as well as complementary electrical and specialty product lines.

Ferguson operates a network of branches and distribution centers that provide inventory, logistics and value-added services to trade customers.