XTX Topco Ltd Acquires New Shares in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 13,219 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,560,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FERG. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Ferguson by 375.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,289,864 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,218,032,000 after buying an additional 4,966,821 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Ferguson by 589.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,619,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $353,778,000 after purchasing an additional 1,384,570 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Ferguson by 10.9% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,563,558 shares of the company’s stock worth $302,781,000 after purchasing an additional 153,757 shares during the period. First Pacific Advisors LP increased its position in Ferguson by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 1,104,289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $213,846,000 after buying an additional 15,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Ferguson by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 975,924 shares of the company’s stock valued at $188,422,000 after purchasing an additional 84,390 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on FERG. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Ferguson from $250.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Ferguson from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ferguson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $231.57.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of FERG opened at $205.52 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $41.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.46, a P/E/G ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 1.21. Ferguson plc has a fifty-two week low of $147.62 and a fifty-two week high of $225.63. The business’s 50-day moving average is $204.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $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.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.86 by $0.12. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.33% and a return on equity of 36.89%. The firm had revenue of $7.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.77 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 9.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 4th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

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

Ferguson 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.