Ferguson plc $FERG Position Boosted by Allstate Corp

Allstate Corp grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 109.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 15,656 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,197 shares during the period. Allstate Corp’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $3,485,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Durable Capital Partners LP purchased a new stake in Ferguson during the third quarter valued at about $244,561,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its stake in Ferguson by 588.1% during the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,087,523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $244,236,000 after buying an additional 929,475 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Ferguson by 22.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,734,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $838,786,000 after buying an additional 682,666 shares in the last quarter. 59 North Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Ferguson by 114.7% during the third quarter. 59 North Capital Management LP now owns 1,255,137 shares of the company’s stock valued at $281,879,000 after buying an additional 670,473 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Ferguson by 502.8% during the third quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 765,725 shares of the company’s stock valued at $171,967,000 after buying an additional 638,692 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on FERG. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $271.00 to $281.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Ferguson from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ferguson from $220.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $269.73.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of FERG opened at $229.83 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $44.57 billion, a PE ratio of 26.72, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.23. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $240.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $242.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.78. Ferguson plc has a twelve month low of $177.75 and a twelve month high of $271.64.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.14. The firm 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%. Ferguson’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.50 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 11.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson declared that its board has approved a share 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 reacquire up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a $0.89 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 currently 41.40%.

About Ferguson

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.