Sagefield Capital LP Grows Stock Holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Sagefield Capital LP increased its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 8.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,895 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,815 shares during the quarter. Ferguson comprises about 1.0% of Sagefield Capital LP’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. Sagefield Capital LP’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $9,275,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FERG. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 375.4% during the second 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 grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 589.0% during 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 buying an additional 1,384,570 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson during the first quarter worth about $104,723,000. APG Asset Management US Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson during the fourth quarter worth about $89,758,000. Finally, Robeco Schweiz AG purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson during the fourth quarter worth about $61,782,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Price Performance

FERG stock opened at $200.16 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Ferguson plc has a 12-month low of $147.62 and a 12-month high of $225.63. The company has a market cap of $40.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.88, a PEG ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 1.21. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $204.62 and a 200-day moving average of $206.88.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.12. Ferguson had a return on equity of 36.89% and a net margin of 6.33%. The firm had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.77 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 9.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, June 4th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on FERG shares. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Ferguson from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. 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 report on Wednesday, September 18th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ferguson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.57.

About Ferguson

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.