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

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

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

Ferguson Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Ferguson stock traded up $1.12 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $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 market cap of $42.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $204.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $206.95. 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 $147.62 and a 52 week high of $225.63.

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

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ferguson

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FERG. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Ferguson by 375.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,289,864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,218,032,000 after purchasing an additional 4,966,821 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Ferguson by 589.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,619,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,778,000 after purchasing an additional 1,384,570 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors bought a new stake in Ferguson in the first quarter valued at approximately $104,723,000. APG Asset Management US Inc. bought a new stake in Ferguson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $89,758,000. Finally, Robeco Schweiz AG bought a new stake in Ferguson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $61,782,000. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.