Yousif Capital Management LLC Raises Holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Yousif Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 52.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 5,503 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,897 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $866,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of FERG. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the first quarter worth about $370,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 11.5% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 34,620 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,669,000 after acquiring an additional 3,570 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 2.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,046,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,213,327,000 after acquiring an additional 191,587 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Ferguson by 100.4% in the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,996 shares of the company’s stock valued at $670,000 after buying an additional 2,503 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its position in Ferguson by 31.4% in the first quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 161,273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,630,000 after buying an additional 38,584 shares during the last quarter.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of FERG stock opened at $157.28 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $158.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $153.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a current ratio of 1.67. Ferguson plc has a one year low of $108.47 and a one year high of $171.06. The firm has a market cap of $32.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.25, a P/E/G ratio of 12.67 and a beta of 1.15.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, September 26th. The company reported $2.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.44 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $7.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.56 billion. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.35% and a return on equity of 41.58%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.85 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 9.69 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 5th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America lowered Ferguson from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 31st. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, October 4th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Ferguson in a research note on Tuesday, October 17th. They issued an “equal weight” rating for the company. Raymond James initiated coverage on Ferguson in a research note on Friday, September 1st. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Ferguson from $175.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $4,142.63.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ferguson news, CEO Kevin Michael Murphy sold 17,978 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.71, for a total transaction of $2,961,156.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 124,110 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,442,158.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Ferguson news, insider William T. Thees, Jr. sold 204 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.94, for a total value of $33,647.76. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 25,428 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,194,094.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Kevin Michael Murphy sold 17,978 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.71, for a total transaction of $2,961,156.38. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 124,110 shares in the company, valued at $20,442,158.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,703 shares of company stock worth $4,563,008 in the last ninety days. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.