Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) Upgraded to "Buy" at Citigroup

Key Points

• Citigroup upgraded Ferguson to “Buy” from “Neutral” and set a $288 price target, implying 25.46% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: Ferguson has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average target price of $287.44, with recent upgrades from other firms.
• Ferguson exceeded quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $3.39 in EPS versus the $3.23 consensus, on $8.75 billion in revenue.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Citigroup from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Tuesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm presently has a $288.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup's price objective points to a potential upside of 25.46% from the stock's previous close.

FERG has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Ferguson from $285.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Zelman & Associates raised Ferguson from a "hold" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $285.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 17th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Ferguson in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Ferguson from $280.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Ferguson from $297.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $287.44.

Ferguson Stock Performance

FERG opened at $229.56 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $226.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $237.26. Ferguson has a twelve month low of $212.13 and a twelve month high of $271.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.41 billion, a PE ratio of 26.97, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.14.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG - Get Free Report) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $8.75 billion for the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ferguson will post 11.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ian T. Graham sold 1,097 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $230.00, for a total transaction of $252,310.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 9,874 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,271,020. This trade represents a 10.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Kevin Murphy sold 1,776 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.50, for a total value of $398,712.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 168,440 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,814,780. The trade was a 1.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 38,808 shares of company stock valued at $8,571,587 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.15% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Compass Financial Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Ferguson in the second quarter worth about $42,000. Vega Investment Solutions raised its position in shares of Ferguson by 50.5% in the 2nd quarter. Vega Investment Solutions now owns 277 shares of the company's stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Ferguson by 93.5% during the second quarter. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. now owns 296 shares of the company's stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company's stock.

Ferguson Company Profile

Ferguson plc NYSE: FERG is a value-added distributor of plumbing, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), waterworks, fire protection and other building and industrial products. The company serves professional contractors, municipalities, commercial and industrial businesses, and other customers through a network of branches, distribution centers, showrooms and digital platforms.

Its product offering includes pipes, valves, fittings, plumbing fixtures, water and wastewater infrastructure products, HVAC equipment, fire protection systems, industrial supplies and related tools and services.

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