William Blair Reduces Earnings Estimates for Ferguson

Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) – Equities research analysts at William Blair reduced their FY2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Ferguson in a report issued on Tuesday, December 10th. William Blair analyst R. Merkel now forecasts that the company will post earnings of $10.80 per share for the year, down from their previous estimate of $11.71. The consensus estimate for Ferguson’s current full-year earnings is $9.40 per share.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.12. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 34.85%. The firm had revenue of $7.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.77 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on FERG. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Ferguson from $232.00 to $220.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays decreased their price objective on Ferguson from $245.00 to $234.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Ferguson from $203.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $219.00 price objective on shares of Ferguson in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ferguson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.00.

Ferguson Trading Down 1.5 %

FERG stock opened at $187.49 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $37.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.90 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 1.80 and a quick ratio of 1.00. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $203.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $202.29. Ferguson has a one year low of $183.63 and a one year high of $225.63.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ferguson

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Asset Dedication LLC bought a new stake in Ferguson in the third quarter worth $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 1,350.0% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 145 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in Ferguson in the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Ferguson news, CMO Victoria Morrissey sold 1,468 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.20, for a total transaction of $295,361.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 5,205 shares in the company, valued at $1,047,246. The trade was a 22.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Garland Williams sold 1,118 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $201.22, for a total value of $224,963.96. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $378,696.04. This trade represents a 37.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,313 shares of company stock worth $2,477,901 over the last 90 days. 0.16% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ferguson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Investors of record on Friday, December 20th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. This is an increase from Ferguson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.79. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 20th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is 37.94%.

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.