D.A. Davidson & CO. Increases Stake in Ferguson plc $FERG

D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its position in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 11.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,383 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,400 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $8,020,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Raiffeisen Bank International AG lifted its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Marsico Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the 4th quarter valued at about $11,017,000. Lmcg Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Ferguson in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,806,000. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd boosted its stake in Ferguson by 68.0% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 82,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,454,000 after purchasing an additional 33,245 shares during the period. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ferguson during the fourth quarter valued at about $891,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FERG opened at $231.39 on Friday. Ferguson plc has a fifty-two week low of $207.64 and a fifty-two week high of $271.64. The stock has a market cap of $44.88 billion, a PE ratio of 26.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.78. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $230.34 and a 200-day moving average of $240.30.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $7.47 billion for the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.50 earnings per share. Ferguson’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 11.27 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $0.89 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FERG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $271.00 to $281.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Ferguson from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Ferguson from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $285.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Ferguson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $315.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Monday, July 6th. One research 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ferguson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.