William Blair Increases Earnings Estimates for Ferguson

Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG - Free Report) - Equities researchers at William Blair raised their FY2027 earnings estimates for Ferguson in a report released on Tuesday, May 27th. William Blair analyst R. Merkel now expects that the company will post earnings per share of $11.23 for the year, up from their previous forecast of $11.18. The consensus estimate for Ferguson's current full-year earnings is $9.40 per share.

FERG has been the subject of several other research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a "hold" rating and a $174.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup reduced their target price on Ferguson from $189.00 to $168.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 12th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Ferguson in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. They set an "overweight" rating and a $204.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Ferguson from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Ferguson in a research note on Monday, March 17th. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $200.15.

Ferguson Stock Down 0.4%

NASDAQ:FERG traded down $0.65 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $182.43. The stock had a trading volume of 2,856,524 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,631,324. 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 has a 1-year low of $146.00 and a 1-year high of $225.63. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $169.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $178.07. The company has a market cap of $36.48 billion, a PE ratio of 21.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.14.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.58 by ($0.06). Ferguson had a net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 34.63%. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.76 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.74 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 6th. Investors 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 1.82%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 20th. Ferguson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.84%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Ferguson

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its stake in Ferguson by 22.7% during the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 3,140 shares of the company's stock worth $503,000 after purchasing an additional 581 shares during the last quarter. SCS Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Ferguson in the first quarter valued at $435,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in Ferguson by 11.9% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,932,959 shares of the company's stock valued at $309,718,000 after buying an additional 205,531 shares during the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP bought a new stake in Ferguson in the first quarter valued at $3,605,000. Finally, Rivermont Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Ferguson by 60.0% in the first quarter. Rivermont Capital Management LP now owns 99,279 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,907,000 after buying an additional 37,227 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.