EDENTREE ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd Buys 4,700 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

EDENTREE ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd grew its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 134.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 8,200 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 4,700 shares during the quarter. EDENTREE ASSET MANAGEMENT Ltd’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $1,583,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 375.4% during the 2nd 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 acquiring an additional 4,966,821 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in Ferguson by 589.0% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,619,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,778,000 after purchasing an additional 1,384,570 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 10.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,563,558 shares of the company’s stock valued at $302,781,000 after purchasing an additional 153,757 shares in the last quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 1.4% during the second quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 1,104,289 shares of the company’s stock worth $213,846,000 after purchasing an additional 15,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew 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 purchasing an additional 84,390 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of Ferguson stock opened at $199.49 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $204.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $206.84. Ferguson plc has a 1-year low of $147.62 and a 1-year high of $225.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a market cap of $40.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.75, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.21.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, September 17th. The company reported $2.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.12. Ferguson had a return on equity of 37.03% and a net margin of 5.85%. The business had revenue of $7.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $8.01 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.77 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 9.86 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, June 4th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 27th will be given a dividend of $0.79 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, September 27th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Ferguson’s payout ratio is presently 34.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on FERG. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Ferguson from $250.00 to $225.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. 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, September 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $231.57.

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.