Sei Investments Co. Boosts Stock Position in Ferguson plc $FERG

Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 24.0% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 369,918 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 71,710 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $86,287,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in FERG. Sycale Advisors NY LLC acquired a new stake in Ferguson in the 1st quarter valued at $2,330,000. State of Wyoming increased its holdings in Ferguson by 25.7% in the 1st quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,431 shares of the company’s stock worth $334,000 after acquiring an additional 293 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Ferguson by 44.6% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 43,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,062,000 after acquiring an additional 13,307 shares during the period. Saturna Capital Corp raised its position in Ferguson by 1.1% during the first quarter. Saturna Capital Corp now owns 241,805 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,403,000 after acquiring an additional 2,731 shares during the period. Finally, ABN Amro Investment Solutions lifted its holdings in Ferguson by 3.8% during the first quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 180,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,209,000 after purchasing an additional 6,611 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FERG opened at $230.36 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $229.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $240.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.13. Ferguson plc has a 52 week low of $207.64 and a 52 week high of $271.64.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.14. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.98% and a return on equity of 38.81%. The firm had revenue of $7.47 billion for the quarter. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 11.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, May 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $0.89 dividend. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on FERG. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ferguson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Zelman & Associates raised Ferguson from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $285.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, July 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Ferguson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $315.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on Ferguson from $271.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ferguson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $277.21.

Ferguson Profile

Ferguson (NYSE: FERG) is a multinational distributor specializing in plumbing and heating products and related building supplies, serving professional contractors, builders and industrial customers. The company supplies a broad range of products used in residential, commercial and infrastructure projects, including pipes and fittings, valves and controls, HVAC equipment, waterworks materials, plumbing fixtures, pumps and accessories, as well as complementary electrical and specialty product lines.

Ferguson operates a network of branches and distribution centers that provide inventory, logistics and value-added services to trade customers.