Summit Global Investments Acquires Shares of 11,190 Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Summit Global Investments bought a new position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 11,190 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,160,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of FERG. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Ferguson by 106.8% in the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 970 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its stake in Ferguson by 8.3% during the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 180,370 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,823,000 after buying an additional 13,839 shares during the last quarter. West Family Investments Inc. purchased a new position in Ferguson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $227,000. LGT Group Foundation bought a new stake in Ferguson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $218,000. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $664,000. Institutional investors own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on FERG shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Ferguson from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Ferguson from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $166.50.

Ferguson Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of FERG stock traded up $3.88 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $217.17. 830,326 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,125,595. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.83 and a beta of 1.27. Ferguson plc has a 12-month low of $137.12 and a 12-month high of $224.86. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $212.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $190.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.80, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The company reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.82 by ($0.08). Ferguson had a net margin of 6.00% and a return on equity of 37.99%. The business had revenue of $6.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.72 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.91 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ferguson plc will post 9.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a $0.79 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 14th. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. Ferguson’s payout ratio is 36.74%.

Ferguson Company 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.