Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) Price Target Raised to $221.00

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) had its price objective raised by Citigroup from $203.00 to $221.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on FERG. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Ferguson from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays upped their price objective on Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $231.57.

Ferguson Stock Performance

NASDAQ:FERG opened at $196.52 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $204.88 and its 200 day moving average is $206.95. Ferguson has a fifty-two week low of $147.62 and a fifty-two week high of $225.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.69 billion, a PE ratio of 21.48, a PEG ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 1.21. 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 (NASDAQ:FERG) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 36.89% and a net margin of 6.33%. The company had revenue of $7.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.01 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.77 EPS. Ferguson’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ferguson will post 9.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, June 4th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 27th. Ferguson’s payout ratio is 34.54%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ferguson

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Ferguson during the 2nd quarter worth $976,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ferguson during the 2nd quarter worth $536,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in Ferguson by 20.7% during the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 176,231 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,127,000 after purchasing an additional 30,186 shares in the last quarter. Regency Capital Management Inc. DE boosted its position in Ferguson by 7.0% during the second quarter. Regency Capital Management Inc. DE now owns 5,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,000,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ascent Group LLC boosted its position in Ferguson by 11.5% during the second quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 7,321 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,418,000 after purchasing an additional 753 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.