Phoenix Financial Ltd. Reduces Holdings in Ferguson plc $FERG

Phoenix Financial Ltd. reduced its holdings in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 6.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,922 shares of the company’s stock after selling 139 shares during the quarter. Phoenix Financial Ltd.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $418,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Drive Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ferguson during the 2nd quarter valued at about $203,000. Stephens Inc. AR increased its holdings in Ferguson by 16.6% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 1,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $430,000 after acquiring an additional 281 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in Ferguson during the 2nd quarter valued at about $260,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in Ferguson during the 2nd quarter valued at about $7,251,000. Finally, Cannon Global Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Ferguson during the 2nd quarter valued at about $479,000. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on FERG shares. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $235.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $260.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $240.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ferguson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $240.80.

Ferguson Stock Performance

FERG opened at $240.28 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $231.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Ferguson plc has a 1 year low of $146.00 and a 1 year high of $246.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.09 billion, a PE ratio of 25.73, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 1.17.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, September 16th. The company reported $3.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.00 by $0.48. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.03% and a return on equity of 35.21%. The business had revenue of $8.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.44 billion.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 26th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 26th. Ferguson’s payout ratio is 35.55%.

Insider Activity

In other Ferguson news, insider Ian T. Graham sold 4,864 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $233.22, for a total transaction of $1,134,382.08. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,769 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,811,886.18. The trade was a 38.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider James A. Paisley sold 3,000 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $236.97, for a total transaction of $710,910.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 2,211 shares in the company, valued at approximately $523,940.67. This trade represents a 57.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,264 shares of company stock valued at $6,853,349 over the last quarter. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ferguson Company Profile

Ferguson Enterprises Inc distributes plumbing and heating products in North America. The company provides expertise, solutions, and products, including infrastructure, plumbing, appliances, fire, and fabrication, as well as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) to residential and non-residential customers.