Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) Shares to Pay Quarterly Dividend of $0.89

Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, November 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 20th will be given a dividend of $0.89 per share on Friday, January 8th. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 20th.

Ferguson has a dividend payout ratio of 33.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Ferguson to earn $12.72 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.56 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 28.0%.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of FERG opened at $248.36 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.11. Ferguson has a twelve month low of $212.13 and a twelve month high of $271.64. The company has a 50 day moving average of $225.41 and a 200-day moving average of $237.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $3.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.23 by $0.16. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.82% and a return on equity of 37.24%. The company had revenue of $8.75 billion for the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ferguson will post 11.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $310.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $285.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Ferguson from $252.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Ferguson from $295.00 to $292.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 15th. Finally, Zelman & Associates raised Ferguson from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $285.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ferguson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $287.44.

About Ferguson

Ferguson plc (NYSE: FERG) is a value-added distributor of plumbing, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), waterworks, fire protection and other building and industrial products. The company serves professional contractors, municipalities, commercial and industrial businesses, and other customers through a network of branches, distribution centers, showrooms and digital platforms.

Its product offering includes pipes, valves, fittings, plumbing fixtures, water and wastewater infrastructure products, HVAC equipment, fire protection systems, industrial supplies and related tools and services.