Teza Capital Management LLC Purchases New Shares in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Teza Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 11,798 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,048,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its stake in Ferguson by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 1,214 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 6,390 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,109,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Caprock Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,496 shares of the company’s stock valued at $610,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. raised 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 acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, LGT Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 106.3% in the fourth quarter. LGT Financial Advisors LLC now owns 198 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Ferguson from $211.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $204.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Ferguson from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Ferguson from $180.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer cut their price target on shares of Ferguson from $234.00 to $189.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.38.

Ferguson Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of Ferguson stock opened at $184.54 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Ferguson plc has a 1 year low of $146.00 and a 1 year high of $225.63. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $165.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $179.50. The stock has a market cap of $36.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.15, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.14.

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

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st were issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 21st. Ferguson’s dividend 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.