Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Ferguson from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ferguson from $225.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Zacks Research raised Ferguson to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $235.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $243.75.

Ferguson Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of Ferguson stock opened at $251.67 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $240.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.68. Ferguson has a 52-week low of $146.00 and a 52-week high of $256.93. The stock has a market cap of $49.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 1.18.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, September 16th. The company reported $3.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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%.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 7th. Investors of record on Friday, September 26th were given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 26th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.55%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Jake Schlicher sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.52, for a total transaction of $700,560.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,720,741.52. This trade represents a 20.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Kevin Michael Murphy sold 8,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $234.13, for a total transaction of $2,060,344.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 159,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,444,645.03. This represents a 5.22% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 29,264 shares of company stock worth $6,853,349 in the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ferguson

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in Ferguson by 7.9% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,075 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the period. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new stake in Ferguson in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,588,000. Alpine Global Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ferguson in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $511,000. Caerus Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $268,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 218,961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,174,000 after purchasing an additional 4,180 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

About Ferguson

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.