BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Boosts Stock Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 11.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 315,544 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,549 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp owned approximately 0.16% of Ferguson worth $61,105,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its position in Ferguson by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 5,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,145,000 after buying an additional 394 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 1,031.0% during the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 475 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Ferguson by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 52,643 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,164,000 after purchasing an additional 1,263 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 52.7% in the fourth quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 19,073 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,682,000 after purchasing an additional 6,579 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in Ferguson by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 111,757 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,577,000 after purchasing an additional 12,578 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on FERG. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Ferguson from $250.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. One research 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $231.57.

Ferguson Stock Up 1.9 %

FERG stock opened at $200.16 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.88, a P/E/G ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 1.21. Ferguson plc has a 52 week low of $147.62 and a 52 week high of $225.63. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $204.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $206.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

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

Ferguson declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Tuesday, June 4th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.