Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) Shares Purchased by Dark Forest Capital Management LP

Dark Forest Capital Management LP lifted its position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) by 520.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,282 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,464 shares during the quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP's holdings in Ferguson were worth $1,958,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Ferguson by 76.9% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 867,593 shares of the company's stock valued at $172,281,000 after acquiring an additional 377,283 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson in the 3rd quarter worth $112,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Ferguson in the 3rd quarter valued at about $66,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Ferguson by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,371,954 shares of the company's stock valued at $477,858,000 after buying an additional 133,769 shares during the period. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 9.9% during the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 518,867 shares of the company's stock valued at $103,031,000 after purchasing an additional 46,947 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ferguson Stock Performance

FERG traded up $0.04 on Monday, reaching $169.49. The stock had a trading volume of 563,942 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,944,026. Ferguson plc has a 12-month low of $146.00 and a 12-month high of $225.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The company has a market cap of $33.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.17. The business's 50-day moving average price is $164.79 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $182.07.

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

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. Ferguson's dividend payout ratio is presently 40.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America raised Ferguson from an "underperform" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $185.00 to $225.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on Ferguson from $234.00 to $189.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $174.00 price objective for the company. Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Monday, March 17th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ferguson presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $199.38.

Ferguson 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.