Gallacher Capital Management LLC Acquires New Position in Ferguson plc $FERG

Gallacher Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $634,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FERG. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,418,334 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,323,104,000 after purchasing an additional 102,850 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Ferguson by 150.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,366,465 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,085,256,000 after buying an additional 5,631,554 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 5,981,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,331,621,000 after buying an additional 434,650 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Ferguson by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,516,764 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,005,567,000 after buying an additional 79,296 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Ferguson by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,393,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $977,959,000 after acquiring an additional 25,785 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Ferguson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $315.00 to $265.00 in a report on Monday, July 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Ferguson from $271.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Ferguson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Ferguson from $295.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $276.61.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of FERG stock opened at $233.76 on Friday. Ferguson plc has a 12-month low of $207.64 and a 12-month high of $271.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.78 and a quick ratio of 0.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.13. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $230.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $240.36.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.14. Ferguson had a return on equity of 38.81% and a net margin of 6.98%.The firm had revenue of $7.47 billion for the quarter. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.50 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 11.27 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, May 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

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

Ferguson Company 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.