Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Takes Position in Ferguson plc $FERG

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 4,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $948,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,418,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,323,104,000 after acquiring an additional 102,850 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 150.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,366,465 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,085,256,000 after purchasing an additional 5,631,554 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in shares of Ferguson by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 5,981,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,331,621,000 after purchasing an additional 434,650 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Ferguson by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,516,764 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,005,567,000 after purchasing an additional 79,296 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,393,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $977,959,000 after purchasing an additional 25,785 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of Ferguson stock opened at $227.85 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.78. Ferguson plc has a 1 year low of $207.64 and a 1 year high of $271.64. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $232.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $240.25. The firm has a market cap of $44.19 billion, a PE ratio of 26.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.13.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $7.47 billion during the quarter. Ferguson had a return on equity of 38.81% and a net margin of 6.98%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.50 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 11.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a $0.89 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.40%.

Ferguson announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, May 5th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on FERG. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on shares of Ferguson from $271.00 to $281.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Ferguson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $315.00 to $265.00 in a report on Monday, July 6th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $295.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ferguson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Ferguson from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.61.

Ferguson Company Profile

Ferguson (NYSE: FERG) is a multinational distributor specializing in plumbing and heating products and related building supplies, serving professional contractors, builders and industrial customers. The company supplies a broad range of products used in residential, commercial and infrastructure projects, including pipes and fittings, valves and controls, HVAC equipment, waterworks materials, plumbing fixtures, pumps and accessories, as well as complementary electrical and specialty product lines.

Ferguson operates a network of branches and distribution centers that provide inventory, logistics and value-added services to trade customers.