PDS Planning Inc Purchases New Stake in Ferguson plc $FERG

PDS Planning Inc purchased a new stake in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 923 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Grove Bank & Trust increased its stake in Ferguson by 247.4% during the first quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 198 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its stake in Ferguson by 56.5% during the first quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 205 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in Ferguson by 103.6% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 226 shares of the company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in Ferguson by 230.8% during the second quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 172 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maseco LLP acquired a new stake in Ferguson during the second quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FERG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Ferguson from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. UBS Group raised their target price on Ferguson from $204.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Ferguson from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Barclays raised their price target on Ferguson from $247.00 to $273.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Ferguson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ferguson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.71.

Ferguson Trading Up 1.5%

NYSE:FERG opened at $235.02 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.16, a PEG ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a fifty day moving average of $229.30. Ferguson plc has a 12-month low of $146.00 and a 12-month high of $243.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.68.

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

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 issued 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%.

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.