Wall Street Zen Downgrades Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) to Hold

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Sunday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on FERG. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Ferguson from $235.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Ferguson from $260.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Zacks Research raised shares of Ferguson to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Ferguson from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Ferguson from $204.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.71.

Ferguson Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of FERG opened at $235.02 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $46.10 billion, a PE ratio of 25.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.17. Ferguson has a twelve month low of $146.00 and a twelve month high of $243.40. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $229.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 16th. The company reported $3.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $8.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.44 billion. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.03% and a return on equity of 35.21%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ferguson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Untitled Investments LP bought a new position in Ferguson during the first quarter worth $5,953,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in Ferguson by 11.9% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,932,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,718,000 after purchasing an additional 205,531 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Ferguson by 14.3% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 5,782 shares of the company’s stock worth $928,000 after purchasing an additional 722 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 37.5% during the first quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 13,042 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,090,000 after buying an additional 3,559 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the first quarter worth $843,000. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ferguson Company Profile

Ferguson Enterprises Inc distributes plumbing and heating products in North America. The company provides expertise, solutions, and products, including infrastructure, plumbing, appliances, fire, and fabrication, as well as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) to residential and non-residential customers.