Ferguson plc (FERG) To Go Ex-Dividend on August 21st

Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 21st will be given a dividend of 0.89 per share on Wednesday, October 7th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 21st.

Ferguson has increased its dividend by an average of 0.0%annually over the last three years. Ferguson has a payout ratio of 33.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Ferguson to earn $12.63 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 28.2%.

Ferguson Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of Ferguson stock opened at $253.00 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $49.07 billion, a PE ratio of 29.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $232.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $240.69. Ferguson has a 1 year low of $207.64 and a 1 year 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.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $7.47 billion for the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.50 earnings per share. Ferguson’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Ferguson will post 11.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on FERG. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays lifted their target price on Ferguson from $295.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut Ferguson from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $315.00 to $265.00 in a report on Monday, July 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ferguson from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $277.21.

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.