Giverny Capital Inc. Buys Shares of 33,708 Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Giverny Capital Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 33,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,851,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Ferguson by 906.7% during the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 151 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Ferguson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 92.5% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 41.1% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 333 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on FERG. Bank of America raised shares of Ferguson from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $185.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $190.00 target price on shares of Ferguson and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Ferguson from $205.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Ferguson from $189.00 to $168.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Ferguson in a report on Monday, February 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $204.00 price objective for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ferguson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $198.62.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of FERG stock opened at $164.61 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The business has a 50 day moving average of $168.30 and a two-hundred day moving average of $184.42. The company has a market cap of $32.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.76, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.17. Ferguson plc has a 52 week low of $146.00 and a 52 week high of $225.63.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by ($0.06). Ferguson had a net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 34.63%. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.76 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.74 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. Ferguson’s payout ratio is currently 40.84%.

Ferguson Profile

Ferguson plc distributes plumbing and heating products in the United States and Canada. It offers plumbing and heating solutions to customers in the residential, commercial, civil/infrastructure, and industrial end markets. The company also provides expertise, solutions, and products, including infrastructure, plumbing, appliances, fire, fabrication, and others, as well as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning products under the Ferguson brand name.