Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) Stake Boosted by Regency Capital Management Inc. DE

Regency Capital Management Inc. DE raised its position in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 7.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,166 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 339 shares during the quarter. Regency Capital Management Inc. DE’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $1,000,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. BayBridge Capital Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Ferguson by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. BayBridge Capital Group LLC now owns 2,373 shares of the company’s stock valued at $494,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ferguson by 3.0% in the first quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,663 shares of the company’s stock worth $363,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. OneAscent Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 1.9% during the first quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC now owns 2,584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $565,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Ferguson by 3.6% during the first quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,568 shares of the company’s stock valued at $342,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its position in Ferguson by 1.8% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 3,142 shares of the company’s stock valued at $686,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ferguson Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of FERG stock opened at $198.62 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $39.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.71, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.21. 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’s 50 day simple moving average is $203.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $206.81. Ferguson plc has a twelve month low of $147.62 and a twelve month high of $225.63.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.01 billion. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.85% and a return on equity of 37.03%. Ferguson’s quarterly revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.77 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 9.86 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Ferguson’s payout ratio is presently 34.54%.

Ferguson declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, June 4th that allows the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 2.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FERG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Ferguson from $250.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of 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 increased their price objective on Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ferguson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $231.57.

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.