Ferguson plc (FERG) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.83 on May 6th

Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, March 11th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a dividend of 0.83 per share on Tuesday, May 6th. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st.

Ferguson has a payout ratio of 29.7% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Ferguson to earn $10.62 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $3.16 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 29.8%.

Ferguson Trading Down 0.7 %

Ferguson stock opened at $155.94 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $176.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $190.86. The company has a market cap of $31.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. Ferguson has a 52-week low of $154.09 and a 52-week high of $225.63.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $1.52 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.74 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Ferguson will post 9.4 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $234.00 to $189.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $211.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America upgraded shares of Ferguson from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $185.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $190.00 price target on shares of Ferguson and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $205.00 to $180.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.64.

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.