Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) Price Target Increased to $221.00 by Analysts at Citigroup

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) had its price objective upped by stock analysts at Citigroup from $203.00 to $221.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the stock. Citigroup’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 6.16% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Ferguson from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $232.67.

Ferguson Price Performance

NASDAQ:FERG traded up $1.12 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $208.18. 1,311,664 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,175,893. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.68. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $204.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $206.95. Ferguson has a 1 year low of $147.62 and a 1 year high of $225.63. The company has a market cap of $42.04 billion, a PE ratio of 22.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 1.21.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.12. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.33% and a return on equity of 36.89%. The firm had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.77 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Ferguson will post 9.63 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, June 4th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ferguson

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FERG. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,000. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ferguson during the 1st quarter valued at $47,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 538.1% during the 4th quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 402 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 2,462.5% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 410 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 394 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

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.