Swiss National Bank Increases Stake in Ferguson plc $FERG

Swiss National Bank grew its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 6.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 574,047 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 36,800 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.30% of Ferguson worth $133,902,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. AIA Group Ltd increased its position in shares of Ferguson by 30.1% in the first quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 40,869 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,533,000 after acquiring an additional 9,462 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the first quarter worth about $1,513,000. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 155.4% during the first quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 78,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,209,000 after purchasing an additional 47,498 shares during the period. Gallacher Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the first quarter worth about $634,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Ferguson by 18.3% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 35,824 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,564,000 after purchasing an additional 5,537 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on FERG. Zelman & Associates upgraded Ferguson from a “hold” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $285.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday. Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Ferguson from $295.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Ferguson from $271.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $277.21.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE FERG opened at $229.04 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $44.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.63, a PEG ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.13. Ferguson plc has a twelve month low of $207.64 and a twelve month high of $271.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a 50 day moving average of $230.04 and a 200 day moving average of $240.41.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.14 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $7.47 billion for the quarter. Ferguson had a return on equity of 38.81% and a net margin of 6.98%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.50 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 11.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $0.89 dividend. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 41.40%.

Ferguson announced that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, May 5th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

About Ferguson

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.