Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.12 EPS

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) announced its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.12, Briefing.com reports. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.33% and a return on equity of 36.89%. The business had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.77 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of Ferguson stock opened at $205.52 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $204.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $206.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.46, a PEG ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 1.21. Ferguson has a 52 week low of $147.62 and a 52 week high of $225.63.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. Ferguson’s payout ratio is presently 34.54%.

Ferguson announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, June 4th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FERG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $250.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup increased their target price on Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $231.57.

Ferguson Company Profile

Ferguson plc distributes plumbing and heating products in the United States and Canada. It offers plumbing and heating solutions to customers in the residential, commercial, civil/infrastructure, and industrial end markets. The company also provides expertise, solutions, and products, including infrastructure, plumbing, appliances, fire, fabrication, and others, as well as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning products under the Ferguson brand name.