West Family Investments Inc. Invests $227,000 in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

West Family Investments Inc. bought a new position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund bought 1,177 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $227,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of FERG. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in Ferguson by 146.1% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Ferguson in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp grew its holdings in Ferguson by 2,291.7% during the 4th quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 287 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ferguson Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FERG traded up $3.88 during trading on Friday, reaching $217.17. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 830,326 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,125,595. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $212.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $190.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. Ferguson plc has a 12 month low of $137.12 and a 12 month high of $224.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.04 billion, a PE ratio of 24.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.83 and a beta of 1.27.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The company reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $6.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.72 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 37.99% and a net margin of 6.00%. Ferguson’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.91 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 9.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 36.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on FERG. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Ferguson from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Raymond James downgraded Ferguson from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ferguson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $166.50.

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.