Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.12 EPS

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) released its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $2.98 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.86 by $0.12, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $7.95 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.01 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 36.89% and a net margin of 6.33%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.77 earnings per share.

Ferguson Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FERG traded up $2.66 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $208.18. The company had a trading volume of 1,813,321 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,183,735. The firm has a market cap of $42.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.68, a PEG ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 1.21. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $204.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $206.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Ferguson has a one year low of $147.62 and a one year high of $225.63.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 27th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.54%.

Ferguson announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, June 4th that allows the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 2.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on FERG. Barclays raised their price target on Ferguson from $229.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Ferguson from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Ferguson from $238.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Ferguson from $228.00 to $236.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Ferguson from $222.00 to $225.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.57.

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.