First Financial Bankshares Inc Invests $357,000 in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

First Financial Bankshares Inc purchased a new stake in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 2,054 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $357,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ferguson by 32.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 32,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,359,000 after buying an additional 7,862 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 778,737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $135,247,000 after acquiring an additional 52,776 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ferguson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $587,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in Ferguson in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $970,000. Finally, Clean Yield Group grew its position in Ferguson by 27.1% during the 4th quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 25,959 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,506,000 after purchasing an additional 5,534 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.98% of the company’s stock.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of FERG opened at $162.62 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.68. The firm has a market cap of $32.52 billion, a PE ratio of 19.52, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.28. Ferguson plc has a twelve month low of $152.52 and a twelve month high of $225.63. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $175.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $189.40.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 11th. The company reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.76 billion. Ferguson had a net margin of 5.68% and a return on equity of 34.63%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.74 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.83 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on FERG. Berenberg Bank increased their target price on Ferguson from $224.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Bank of America upgraded Ferguson from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $185.00 to $225.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Ferguson in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $204.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $189.00 price target on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Ferguson and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.64.

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.