Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) Shares Purchased by SRS Capital Advisors Inc.

SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 106.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 970 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 501 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $187,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 180,370 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,823,000 after purchasing an additional 13,839 shares during the last quarter. West Family Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in Ferguson in the 4th quarter worth about $227,000. LGT Group Foundation purchased a new stake in Ferguson in the 4th quarter valued at about $218,000. New York Life Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ferguson during the 4th quarter valued at about $664,000. Finally, Essex Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson during the 4th quarter worth about $252,000. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Raymond James lowered shares of Ferguson from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $166.50.

Ferguson Stock Up 1.8 %

Ferguson stock traded up $3.88 during trading on Friday, reaching $217.17. 836,882 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,146,346. The company’s 50-day moving average is $213.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $191.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.80. Ferguson plc has a 52-week low of $137.12 and a 52-week high of $224.86. The firm has a market cap of $44.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.25, a PEG ratio of 8.91 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Ferguson Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.74%.

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.