Swiss National Bank Grows Position in Ferguson plc $FERG

Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 6.8% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 574,047 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 36,800 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $133,902,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. AIA Group Ltd grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 30.1% in the 1st quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 40,869 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,533,000 after buying an additional 9,462 shares in the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,513,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its position in shares of Ferguson by 155.4% during the 1st quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 78,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,209,000 after buying an additional 47,498 shares in the last quarter. Gallacher Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ferguson in the 1st quarter valued at about $634,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 18.3% in the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 35,824 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,564,000 after acquiring an additional 5,537 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Trading Down 1.3%

FERG opened at $229.04 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $44.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.63, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $207.64 and a 12 month high of $271.64. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $230.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $240.41.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $7.47 billion during the quarter. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.98% and a return on equity of 38.81%. The company’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.50 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 11.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, May 5th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on FERG shares. Weiss Ratings raised Ferguson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Ferguson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $315.00 to $265.00 in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Zelman & Associates upgraded Ferguson from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $285.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday. Barclays boosted their target price on Ferguson from $295.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ferguson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $277.21.

Ferguson 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.