Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) Sees Large Volume Increase

Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) saw strong trading volume on Tuesday . 475,679 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 57% from the previous session’s volume of 1,110,051 shares.The stock last traded at $222.73 and had previously closed at $223.58.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Raymond James downgraded Ferguson from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Ferguson from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $166.50.

Ferguson Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a market cap of $44.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.63, a PEG ratio of 9.34 and a beta of 1.27. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $207.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $185.37.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 5th. The company reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $6.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.72 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 37.99% and a net margin of 6.00%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.91 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.66 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be given a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Ferguson’s payout ratio is 36.74%.

Institutional Trading of Ferguson

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FERG. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Ferguson during the 4th quarter worth about $988,852,000. Brown Advisory Inc. increased its stake in Ferguson by 86.9% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 1,636,434 shares of the company’s stock worth $269,144,000 after buying an additional 760,800 shares in the last quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Ferguson by 58.4% during the 4th quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,872,863 shares of the company’s stock worth $361,594,000 after buying an additional 690,643 shares in the last quarter. Steadfast Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Ferguson during the 1st quarter worth approximately $79,982,000. Finally, Sculptor Capital LP purchased a new stake in Ferguson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $68,056,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Company 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.