Stifel Financial Corp Boosts Stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 8.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 94,080 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 6,949 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $16,330,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 944.4% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 3,537,155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $613,944,000 after purchasing an additional 3,198,477 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Ferguson during the fourth quarter valued at $469,730,000. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 208.8% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,678,880 shares of the company’s stock worth $464,973,000 after buying an additional 1,811,287 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,007,892 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,740,049,000 after buying an additional 1,539,889 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the 4th quarter valued at about $239,539,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $193.00 price target (down previously from $230.00) on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Ferguson in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “hold” rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America upgraded Ferguson from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $185.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $189.00 price objective on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $190.00 target price on shares of Ferguson and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ferguson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.38.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of FERG stock opened at $169.73 on Friday. Ferguson plc has a twelve month low of $146.00 and a twelve month high of $225.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $164.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $182.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.17.

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

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

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 given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. Ferguson’s payout ratio is 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.