Apella Capital LLC Takes $833,000 Position in Ferguson plc $FERG

Apella Capital LLC bought a new position in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 3,573 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $833,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Raiffeisen Bank International AG increased its holdings in Ferguson by 350,745.0% in the 4th quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 522,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,382,000 after acquiring an additional 522,610 shares in the last quarter. Kinetic Partners Management LP lifted its holdings in Ferguson by 53.4% during the third quarter. Kinetic Partners Management LP now owns 349,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,378,000 after purchasing an additional 121,500 shares in the last quarter. Marsico Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ferguson in the fourth quarter worth approximately $11,017,000. Fieldview Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ferguson in the third quarter worth approximately $3,258,000. Finally, Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd increased its stake in shares of Ferguson by 68.0% in the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 82,169 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,454,000 after purchasing an additional 33,245 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently commented on FERG. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $271.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Ferguson from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays raised their price target on Ferguson from $295.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Ferguson from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $277.58.

Ferguson Trading Down 1.1%

Ferguson stock opened at $238.08 on Friday. Ferguson plc has a 1 year low of $207.64 and a 1 year high of $271.64. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $238.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $240.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market cap of $46.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.68, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.15.

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

Ferguson announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, May 5th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.89 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.40%.

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.