Ferguson plc $FERG Shares Sold by 59 North Capital Management LP

Key Points

• 59 North Capital Management LP reduced its stake in Ferguson plc by 12.1%, owning 724,399 shares after selling 100,071 shares, making Ferguson the 9th largest position in their portfolio.
• Ferguson's recent quarterly earnings showed an EPS of $2.50, surpassing analysts' expectations of $2.06, with a revenue increase of 4.3% year-over-year.
• Analysts have set various price targets for Ferguson, with a consensus target price of $220.64 and ten analysts rating it as a Buy.

59 North Capital Management LP lowered its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) by 12.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 724,399 shares of the company's stock after selling 100,071 shares during the quarter. Ferguson comprises about 4.2% of 59 North Capital Management LP's holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. 59 North Capital Management LP owned 0.36% of Ferguson worth $116,070,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stake in shares of Ferguson by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 207,739 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,286,000 after acquiring an additional 7,000 shares during the last quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec increased its stake in shares of Ferguson by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec now owns 9,623 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,542,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Ferguson by 100.0% during the 1st quarter. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP now owns 600,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $96,138,000 after acquiring an additional 300,000 shares during the last quarter. Perbak Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in shares of Ferguson during the 1st quarter valued at about $279,000. Finally, Durable Capital Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Ferguson during the 1st quarter valued at about $117,089,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

FERG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Berenberg Bank reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $189.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Ferguson from $173.00 to $204.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Ferguson from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $220.64.

Ferguson Stock Down 1.3%

FERG opened at $231.13 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $224.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $193.41. The company has a market cap of $45.58 billion, a PE ratio of 27.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.15. Ferguson plc has a 1 year low of $146.00 and a 1 year high of $238.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.68.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 34.63% and a net margin of 5.68%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.32 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 earnings per share for the current year.

About Ferguson

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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