59 North Capital Management LP Acquires 215,899 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

59 North Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) by 35.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 824,470 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 215,899 shares during the period. Ferguson accounts for about 6.7% of 59 North Capital Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. 59 North Capital Management LP owned 0.41% of Ferguson worth $143,103,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of FERG. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Ferguson by 906.7% in the 4th quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 151 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. LGT Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Ferguson by 106.3% in the fourth quarter. LGT Financial Advisors LLC now owns 198 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 92.5% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 258 shares of the company's stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Finally, R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 81.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of FERG stock opened at $169.90 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $33.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.17. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $164.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $181.49. Ferguson plc has a one year low of $146.00 and a one year high of $225.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.58 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.76 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 34.63% and a net margin of 5.68%. The business's revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.74 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. Ferguson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 40.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on FERG. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Ferguson in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a "hold" rating and a $174.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird set a $190.00 target price on Ferguson and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Zelman & Associates downgraded Ferguson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Ferguson from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Ferguson in a report on Monday, March 17th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ferguson presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $199.38.

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.

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