24,093 Shares in Ferguson plc $FERG Purchased by English Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• English Capital Management LLC acquired 24,093 shares of Ferguson plc, valued at approximately $3.86 million, making it the firm's 17th largest holding.
• Brokerages have raised their target prices on Ferguson, with Morgan Stanley setting a target of $220.00 and Oppenheimer increasing theirs to $235.00, indicating strong analyst support.
• Ferguson recently reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, surpassing expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.83 per share.

English Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 24,093 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,860,000. Ferguson makes up approximately 2.9% of English Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 14.3% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 5,782 shares of the company's stock valued at $928,000 after acquiring an additional 722 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 37.5% during the first quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 13,042 shares of the company's stock worth $2,090,000 after purchasing an additional 3,559 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the first quarter worth $843,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 24.0% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 3,393 shares of the company's stock worth $544,000 after purchasing an additional 657 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 29.6% during the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,635,707 shares of the company's stock worth $582,452,000 after purchasing an additional 831,112 shares during the period. 81.98% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FERG has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Ferguson from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Ferguson from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Ferguson from $189.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Berenberg Bank reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Ferguson in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Ferguson in a 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ferguson presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $220.64.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of FERG stock traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $231.40. The stock had a trading volume of 1,193,612 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,720,571. Ferguson plc has a 12-month low of $146.00 and a 12-month high of $232.92. The company has a market cap of $45.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.16. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $220.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $189.54. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 3rd. The company reported $2.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.06 by $0.44. Ferguson had a return on equity of 34.63% and a net margin of 5.68%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.32 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 20th were given a $0.83 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 20th. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Ferguson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.