Park Avenue Securities LLC Increases Stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 1.6% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,241 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $1,209,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in FERG. Richardson Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Ferguson during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 60.0% in the first quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of Ferguson by 146.1% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 187 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the first quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Avalon Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the fourth quarter valued at $50,000. 81.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Ferguson from $232.00 to $229.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Ferguson from $217.00 to $211.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $230.00.

Ferguson Stock Up 2.2 %

NASDAQ FERG traded up $4.36 during trading on Thursday, reaching $198.88. 194,438 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,131,911. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market cap of $40.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.57 and a beta of 1.22. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $202.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $206.09. Ferguson plc has a 12-month low of $147.62 and a 12-month high of $225.63.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, June 4th. The company reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.05. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.33% and a return on equity of 36.89%. The business had revenue of $7.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.20 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th were issued a $0.79 dividend. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 14th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.54%.

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.