Cantillon Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Ferguson plc $FERG

Cantillon Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,984,854 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,963 shares during the period. Ferguson accounts for about 2.4% of Cantillon Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Cantillon Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $441,888,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its holdings in Ferguson by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,393,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $977,959,000 after acquiring an additional 25,785 shares during the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the fourth quarter worth about $506,000. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ferguson by 14.0% in the fourth quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 27,624 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,150,000 after buying an additional 3,382 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Ferguson by 74.2% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp boosted its stake in Ferguson by 26.6% during the fourth quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 31,727 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,063,000 after buying an additional 6,672 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on FERG. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Ferguson from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Ferguson from $220.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $295.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ferguson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $273.64.

Ferguson Trading Down 0.2%

FERG stock opened at $229.14 on Monday. Ferguson plc has a twelve month low of $207.64 and a twelve month high of $271.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $241.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $241.37.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. Ferguson’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.50 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 11.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson announced that its board has authorized a stock 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $0.89 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. 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.