Federated Hermes Inc. Sells 3,233 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Federated Hermes Inc. trimmed its position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 57.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,411 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,233 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $467,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of FERG. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ferguson by 6.2% in the second quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 36,033 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,978,000 after buying an additional 2,112 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Ferguson by 46.2% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,466 shares of the company’s stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares during the last quarter. BOKF NA boosted its position in Ferguson by 236.7% during the second quarter. BOKF NA now owns 1,899 shares of the company’s stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 1,335 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ferguson in the second quarter valued at $490,000. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Ferguson by 71.1% in the second quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $742,000 after purchasing an additional 1,593 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ferguson Stock Performance

FERG opened at $200.16 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $40.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 1.21. The business’s fifty day moving average is $204.62 and its 200-day moving average is $206.88. Ferguson plc has a 52-week low of $147.62 and a 52-week high of $225.63. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $8.01 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.77 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side 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 plan on Tuesday, June 4th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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 paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. Ferguson’s payout ratio is presently 34.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FERG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. UBS Group upped their target price on Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Robert W. Baird upped 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. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ferguson presently has an average 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.