Bank of Nova Scotia Increases Stock Position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Key Points

• Bank of Nova Scotia significantly increased its stake in Ferguson plc by 349.1%, owning 136,980 shares valued at approximately $21.95 million after purchasing an additional 106,479 shares.
• Ferguson plc reported a Q2 EPS of $2.50, surpassing expectations of $2.06, and noted a 4.3% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.83 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 1.5%, with a payout ratio of 41.40%.

Bank of Nova Scotia grew its position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) by 349.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 136,980 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 106,479 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia owned approximately 0.07% of Ferguson worth $21,948,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of FERG. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Ferguson by 14.3% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 5,782 shares of the company's stock worth $928,000 after acquiring an additional 722 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp increased its stake in Ferguson by 37.5% in the first quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 13,042 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,090,000 after purchasing an additional 3,559 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Ferguson by 24.0% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 3,393 shares of the company's stock valued at $544,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares during the period. First Pacific Advisors LP increased its stake in Ferguson by 13.5% in the first quarter. First Pacific Advisors LP now owns 1,251,631 shares of the company's stock valued at $200,549,000 after purchasing an additional 148,891 shares during the period. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC increased its stake in Ferguson by 40.3% in the first quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC now owns 35,015 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,610,000 after purchasing an additional 10,064 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ferguson Trading Down 1.3%

FERG stock traded down $3.02 on Wednesday, hitting $223.14. 1,291,030 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,750,215. Ferguson plc has a twelve month low of $146.00 and a twelve month high of $228.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The business's fifty day moving average is $216.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $187.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.16.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 3rd. The company reported $2.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 last year, the business earned $2.32 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 20th. Ferguson's payout ratio is currently 41.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on FERG. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $189.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $220.00 price objective (up previously from $195.00) on shares of Ferguson in a report on Monday, June 9th. 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. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $173.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $220.64.

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.