Ferguson plc to Post FY2025 Earnings of $9.89 Per Share, William Blair Forecasts (NASDAQ:FERG)

Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) – Investment analysts at William Blair dropped their FY2025 EPS estimates for Ferguson in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, September 17th. William Blair analyst R. Merkel now expects that the company will post earnings of $9.89 per share for the year, down from their previous estimate of $10.65. The consensus estimate for Ferguson’s current full-year earnings is $9.63 per share.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Ferguson from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ferguson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.57.

Ferguson Trading Up 1.3 %

Ferguson stock opened at $208.19 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.04 billion, a PE ratio of 22.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Ferguson has a 12-month low of $147.62 and a 12-month high of $225.63. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $204.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $206.94.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.12. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.33% and a return on equity of 36.89%. The company had revenue of $7.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.77 earnings per share. Ferguson’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 27th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.54%.

Ferguson announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, June 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ferguson

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FERG. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Ferguson by 375.4% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,289,864 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,218,032,000 after purchasing an additional 4,966,821 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 589.0% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,619,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,778,000 after buying an additional 1,384,570 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,563,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,781,000 after buying an additional 153,757 shares in the last quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP increased its holdings in Ferguson by 1.4% in the second quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 1,104,289 shares of the company’s stock worth $213,846,000 after buying an additional 15,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 9.5% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 975,924 shares of the company’s stock worth $188,422,000 after buying an additional 84,390 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Ferguson

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.