KBC Group NV Grows Stock Position in Ferguson plc $FERG

Key Points

• KBC Group NV boosted its Ferguson stake by 2.2% in Q1, buying 14,531 shares to bring its total holding to 671,258 shares valued at about $156.6 million.
• Ferguson posted better-than-expected quarterly results, reporting EPS of $2.28 versus estimates of $2.14 on revenue of $7.47 billion, with revenue up 3.6% year over year.
• The company is returning capital to shareholders through a quarterly dividend of $0.89 per share and a new $2 billion share repurchase authorization, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” outlook with an average target price of $277.21.

KBC Group NV increased its stake in Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG - Free Report) by 2.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 671,258 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 14,531 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV owned about 0.35% of Ferguson worth $156,578,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of FERG. Raiffeisen Bank International AG raised its position in Ferguson by 350,745.0% in the 4th quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 522,759 shares of the company's stock worth $116,382,000 after purchasing an additional 522,610 shares during the period. Marsico Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,017,000. Lmcg Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,806,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ferguson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $891,000. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 89.6% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 30,983 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,898,000 after buying an additional 14,644 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:FERG opened at $231.39 on Monday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $230.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $240.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.78. Ferguson plc has a one year low of $207.64 and a one year high of $271.64. The firm has a market cap of $44.88 billion, a PE ratio of 26.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.13.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $7.47 billion during the quarter. Ferguson had a return on equity of 38.81% and a net margin of 6.98%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.50 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 11.27 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $0.89 dividend. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 15th. Ferguson's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.40%.

Ferguson declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 5th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

FERG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on Ferguson from $295.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings raised Ferguson from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Ferguson from $271.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Zelman & Associates upgraded Ferguson from a "hold" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $285.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $277.21.

Ferguson Profile

Ferguson NYSE: FERG is a multinational distributor specializing in plumbing and heating products and related building supplies, serving professional contractors, builders and industrial customers. The company supplies a broad range of products used in residential, commercial and infrastructure projects, including pipes and fittings, valves and controls, HVAC equipment, waterworks materials, plumbing fixtures, pumps and accessories, as well as complementary electrical and specialty product lines.

Ferguson operates a network of branches and distribution centers that provide inventory, logistics and value-added services to trade customers.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding FERG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.