Aigen Investment Management LP Sells 3,897 Shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Key Points

• Aigen Investment Management LP reduced its holdings in Ferguson plc by 46.0% in the first quarter, leaving them with 4,566 shares worth $732,000.
• Ferguson's stock performance was strong, reporting $2.50 earnings per share, surpassing the consensus estimate of $2.06, along with a 4.3% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year.
• Several analysts have issued optimistic ratings on Ferguson, with target prices ranging from $220.00 to $280.00, indicating a generally positive outlook for the stock.

Aigen Investment Management LP lowered its holdings in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) by 46.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,566 shares of the company's stock after selling 3,897 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP's holdings in Ferguson were worth $732,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 208.8% during the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,678,880 shares of the company's stock worth $464,973,000 after buying an additional 1,811,287 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Ferguson by 24.5% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,660,299 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,227,410,000 after acquiring an additional 1,506,024 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in Ferguson by 94.6% in the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 2,402,527 shares of the company's stock valued at $384,957,000 after acquiring an additional 1,167,751 shares in the last quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA bought a new position in shares of Ferguson in the fourth quarter valued at about $196,481,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Ferguson by 1,036.1% during the first quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,020,522 shares of the company's stock worth $163,518,000 after buying an additional 930,696 shares in the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on FERG. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $189.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Ferguson from $173.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Berenberg Bank restated a "hold" rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Ferguson in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $189.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $220.64.

Ferguson Stock Performance

FERG stock traded up $3.66 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $231.68. 1,274,448 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,720,636. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The business has a 50-day moving average of $220.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $189.07. Ferguson plc has a 52 week low of $146.00 and a 52 week high of $232.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.68 billion, a PE ratio of 27.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.16.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, June 3rd. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.44. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 34.63%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.32 earnings per share. Ferguson's revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 20th were issued a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 20th. Ferguson's payout ratio is presently 41.40%.

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.