Janus Henderson Group PLC Raises Stake in Ferguson plc $FERG

Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 6,107,108 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 125,317 shares during the period. Ferguson accounts for about 0.7% of Janus Henderson Group PLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $1,424,075,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,418,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,323,104,000 after purchasing an additional 102,850 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew 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 worth $2,085,256,000 after purchasing an additional 5,631,554 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake 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. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 25,785 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Soroban Capital Partners LP increased its holdings in Ferguson by 2.8% in the second quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 3,705,056 shares of the company’s stock valued at $806,776,000 after buying an additional 100,559 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FERG has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Ferguson from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Ferguson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $315.00 to $265.00 in a report on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings raised Ferguson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on Ferguson from $271.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Zelman & Associates raised Ferguson from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $285.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $277.21.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of FERG opened at $226.38 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 0.96. Ferguson plc has a 1-year low of $207.64 and a 1-year high of $271.64. The stock has a market cap of $43.90 billion, a PE ratio of 26.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.13. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $230.34 and a 200 day moving average price of $240.64.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.14. Ferguson had a return on equity of 38.81% and a net margin of 6.98%.The company had revenue of $7.47 billion for the quarter. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.50 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 11.25 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, May 5th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.