Citigroup Inc. Grows Holdings in Ferguson plc $FERG

Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 27.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 147,855 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 31,452 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned 0.08% of Ferguson worth $33,205,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Ferguson by 0.9% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,341,871 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,211,692,000 after purchasing an additional 173,128 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,687,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,673,977,000 after buying an additional 27,312 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 39.3% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,255,661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $926,830,000 after buying an additional 1,201,493 shares during the period. Soroban Capital Partners LP lifted its stake in Ferguson by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 3,705,056 shares of the company’s stock worth $806,776,000 after acquiring an additional 100,559 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in Ferguson by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,442,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $531,769,000 after acquiring an additional 10,615 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Ferguson from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Ferguson from $262.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ferguson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.62.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of FERG opened at $260.42 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.30, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.18. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $245.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $239.60. Ferguson plc has a twelve month low of $146.00 and a twelve month high of $271.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 24th. The company reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.24 by ($0.25). Ferguson had a return on equity of 35.73% and a net margin of 6.28%.During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. Ferguson’s revenue was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a dividend of $0.89 per share. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 6th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.96%.

Key Ferguson News

Here are the key news stories impacting Ferguson this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target to $295 and kept an “overweight” rating (roughly +13% upside vs. current levels), signaling confidence in Ferguson’s growth trajectory. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo lifted its target to $285 and maintained an “overweight” view (about +9% upside), another vote of confidence from a large research house. Article Title Ticker Report
• Positive Sentiment: Oppenheimer increased its target to $280 and moved to “outperform” (≈+7.5% upside), adding to the cluster of buy-side upgrades. Article Title Ticker Report
• Neutral Sentiment: Company press release: Ferguson reported “strong calendar 2025 results” and issued 2026 guidance after changing its fiscal year — supporting the bullish analyst views but investors will focus on details in the guidance and cadence of margin improvement. Business Wire
• Neutral Sentiment: Company investor materials and earnings call transcript were posted (presentation and Seeking Alpha transcript). These contain management’s commentary on revenue mix, margin targets (10%+ long-term objective) and the transition to a calendar fiscal year. Traders will parse these for guidance clarity. Presentation Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Several unrelated media stories reference people named “Ferguson” (celebrity and local crime reports). These are not related to Ferguson plc operationally but can create short-term name-recognition noise in headlines. MSN
• Negative Sentiment: Ferguson missed Q4 consensus EPS ($1.99 vs. $2.24 expected), a $0.25 shortfall, although revenue rose ~3.6% year-over-year. The EPS miss likely pressured the stock despite solid margins and high ROE, as investors focus on near-term demand and margin recovery timing. MarketBeat
• Negative Sentiment: UBS raised its target to $252 but kept a “neutral” rating; that target implies slight downside from current levels and may cap upside until stronger evidence of margin expansion or revenue acceleration appears. Article Title

Ferguson Profile

Ferguson (NYSE: FERG) is a multinational distributor specializing in plumbing and heating products and related building supplies, serving professional contractors, builders and industrial customers. The company supplies a broad range of products used in residential, commercial and infrastructure projects, including pipes and fittings, valves and controls, HVAC equipment, waterworks materials, plumbing fixtures, pumps and accessories, as well as complementary electrical and specialty product lines.

Ferguson operates a network of branches and distribution centers that provide inventory, logistics and value-added services to trade customers.