Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) Shares Gap Up Following Earnings Beat

Shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) gapped up before the market opened on Monday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $233.70, but opened at $251.68. Ferguson shares last traded at $259.1410, with a volume of 468,454 shares traded.

The company reported $3.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.28 by $0.15. Ferguson had a return on equity of 37.24% and a net margin of 6.82%. The firm had revenue of $9.03 billion for the quarter.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 8th. Investors of record on Friday, November 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.89 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 20th. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. Ferguson’s payout ratio is presently 41.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Ferguson from $285.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Ferguson from $290.00 to $286.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $280.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Ferguson from $290.00 to $295.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. Finally, Zelman & Associates raised shares of Ferguson from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $285.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $287.44.

Insider Activity

In other Ferguson news, insider Allison Stirrup sold 922 shares of Ferguson stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.00, for a total value of $207,450.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 7,038 shares in the company, valued at $1,583,550. The trade was a 11.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Jake Schlicher sold 314 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.50, for a total transaction of $70,493.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 8,621 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,935,414.50. This represents a 3.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 38,808 shares of company stock worth $8,571,587 over the last ninety days. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Jupiter Topco LLC purchased a new stake in Ferguson during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,789,368,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in Ferguson by 2.1% in the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 6,107,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,424,075,000 after acquiring an additional 125,317 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Ferguson by 1.1% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,619,995 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,100,474,000 after purchasing an additional 48,544 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Ferguson by 0.8% in the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,055,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $487,796,000 after purchasing an additional 16,866 shares during the last quarter. Finally, W1M Asset Management Ltd grew its holdings in Ferguson by 6.2% in the second quarter. W1M Asset Management Ltd now owns 1,980,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $469,945,000 after purchasing an additional 116,418 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Stock Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average price of $225.41 and a 200-day moving average price of $237.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.11. 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 Company Profile

Ferguson plc is a distributor of plumbing, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), waterworks, and fire protection products. It supplies contractors and other professional customers with products, services, and expertise for residential, commercial, industrial, and infrastructure projects.

The company serves customers primarily in the United States and Canada through branches, distribution centers, and digital channels. Its offerings include pipes, valves and fittings, plumbing fixtures, HVAC equipment, water and wastewater products, and fire protection systems.

Ferguson traces its history to Wolseley, a British company that entered the plumbing and heating distribution business in the 1950s.