Strs Ohio Buys 14,945 Shares of Ferguson plc $FERG

Strs Ohio lifted its stake in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG - Free Report) by 322.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,576 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,945 shares during the period. Strs Ohio's holdings in Ferguson were worth $4,358,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Atria Investments Inc grew its position in shares of Ferguson by 38.2% in the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 15,401 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,459,000 after acquiring an additional 4,259 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,002,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its stake in Ferguson by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 20,523 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,609,000 after purchasing an additional 2,145 shares during the last quarter. Kinetic Partners Management LP grew its holdings in Ferguson by 53.4% during the third quarter. Kinetic Partners Management LP now owns 349,000 shares of the company's stock worth $78,378,000 after purchasing an additional 121,500 shares during the period. Finally, C WorldWide Group Holding A S grew its holdings in Ferguson by 108.8% during the third quarter. C WorldWide Group Holding A S now owns 535,363 shares of the company's stock worth $120,232,000 after purchasing an additional 278,971 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Ferguson

Here are the key news stories impacting Ferguson this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly results: Ferguson beat consensus EPS ($2.28 vs. $2.14) and delivered revenue of $7.47B, with management highlighting strength in non‑residential/capital projects — a sign the company can win large contracts and sustain margin mix benefits. Ferguson Reports First Quarter
• Positive Sentiment: Strategic partnership: Ferguson formed an alliance with Contractor Commerce to improve digital/e‑commerce capabilities for contractor customers — could help drive share gains and digital sales growth over time. Contractor Commerce Alliance
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment: Brokerages give Ferguson an average "Moderate Buy" rating, indicating continued analyst support despite mixed quarter — a counterweight to near‑term selling. Analyst Rating
• Neutral Sentiment: SEC/Form filings: Ferguson filed a Form 8‑K related to its annual meeting and disclosed vesting of restricted stock units for directors/PDMRs — routine governance and compensation disclosures with no direct cash‑flow impact. Form 8-K
• Neutral Sentiment: PDMR shareholding disclosure: Restricted stock units vested for directors (disclosed in a notice) — standard compensation reporting rather than insider selling. PDMR Shareholding
• Negative Sentiment: Earnings-call tone & headline metrics: The earnings call transcript reiterates a "challenging market" backdrop, year‑over‑year EPS decline (from $2.50 to $2.28) and only modest revenue growth (3.6%), which likely prompted caution from investors despite the beat. Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Potential headline noise: Local news stories referencing "Ferguson" (city-level votes rejecting tax abatements/data center proposals) and unrelated media about public figures named Ferguson are creating search/activity noise; these items are not company actions but can confuse sentiment in the short term. City Council Rejects Tax Abatement Data Center Rejection

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on FERG. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Ferguson from $285.00 to $260.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Ferguson from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $220.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Ferguson in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ferguson has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $267.27.

Ferguson Stock Down 3.1%

FERG opened at $252.81 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $243.88 and a 200-day moving average of $243.90. The company has a market capitalization of $49.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.23. Ferguson plc has a fifty-two week low of $166.04 and a fifty-two week high of $271.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.88.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $2.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.14. Ferguson had a net margin of 6.93% and a return on equity of 40.37%. The business had revenue of $7.47 billion for the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.50 earnings per share. Ferguson's revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 11.2 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.89 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Ferguson's dividend payout ratio is currently 35.96%.

Ferguson announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, May 5th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.

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