Melius Research Begins Coverage on Ferguson (NYSE:FERG)

08 Oct 2026, 05:48 by Kim Johansen · The Markets Daily

Equities research analysts at Melius Research initiated coverage on shares of Ferguson (NYSE:FERG – Get Free Report) in a report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage set a “hold” rating and a $252.00 price target on the stock. Melius Research’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 17.26% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Ferguson from $285.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Ferguson from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Ferguson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $315.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $280.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein raised their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ferguson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $283.07.

View Our Latest Stock Analysis on FERG

Ferguson Stock Down 3.8%

FERG stock opened at $214.92 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a 50-day moving average of $231.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $234.63. Ferguson has a 52-week low of $212.13 and a 52-week high of $271.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $3.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.23 by $0.16. Ferguson had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 6.82%.The business had revenue of $8.75 billion for the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ferguson will post 11.42 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ferguson news, insider Jake Schlicher sold 5,177 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.92, for a total value of $1,195,472.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 9,490 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,191,430.80. This represents a 35.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Ferguson

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Jupiter Topco LLC acquired a new stake in Ferguson during the second quarter worth $1,789,368,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,107,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,424,075,000 after buying an additional 125,317 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,619,995 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,100,474,000 after buying an additional 48,544 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,868,181 shares of the company’s stock valued at $668,809,000 after buying an additional 240,666 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,055,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $487,796,000 after acquiring an additional 16,866 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

More Ferguson News

Here are the key news stories impacting Ferguson this week:

Positive Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada maintained its “outperform” rating on Ferguson, indicating continued confidence in the plumbing and heating distributor’s long-term prospects. Although RBC reduced its price target from $290 to $286, the revised target still implies approximately 33% upside from the referenced share price.
Neutral Sentiment: Melius Research initiated coverage with a “hold” rating and a $252 price target, implying roughly 17% upside. The initiation provides additional analyst coverage but signals that Melius sees a more balanced risk-reward profile. Melius Research Begins Coverage on Ferguson
Negative Sentiment: RBC’s $4 reduction in its price target may weigh modestly on sentiment because it reflects slightly lower expectations, even though the firm retained its bullish rating. The cut also highlights that analysts may be tempering near-term assumptions while Ferguson’s valuation remains elevated relative to its recent trading range.

About Ferguson

(Get Free Report)

Ferguson plc (NYSE: FERG) is a North American distributor of plumbing and heating products, supplying professional customers across the residential, commercial, industrial and infrastructure markets. The company serves contractors, builders, remodelers, municipalities, industrial businesses and other trade professionals through branch locations, distribution centers and digital ordering platforms.