Federated Hermes Inc. Has $532,000 Stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) by 15.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,757 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $532,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 542,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,318,000 after buying an additional 29,396 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Ferguson by 807.2% during the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 14,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,802,000 after purchasing an additional 12,915 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Ferguson by 37.6% in the fourth quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 30,707 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,929,000 after purchasing an additional 8,395 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Ferguson by 491.4% in the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 220,483 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,569,000 after purchasing an additional 183,199 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the 3rd quarter worth about $8,341,000. 81.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Raymond James cut Ferguson from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $166.50.

Ferguson Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:FERG opened at $217.17 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $44.04 billion, a PE ratio of 25.25, a P/E/G ratio of 8.83 and a beta of 1.27. Ferguson plc has a 1 year low of $137.12 and a 1 year high of $224.86. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $212.90 and a 200 day moving average price of $190.65.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The company reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.82 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $6.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.72 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 37.99% and a net margin of 6.00%. The business’s revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.91 EPS. Analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 9.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.74%.

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.