SIH Partners LLLP Buys Shares of 122,082 Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

SIH Partners LLLP purchased a new position in shares of Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 122,082 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,190,000. Ferguson makes up approximately 1.1% of SIH Partners LLLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of FERG. FMR LLC grew its position in Ferguson by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,007,892 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,740,049,000 after acquiring an additional 1,539,889 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Ferguson by 25.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 5,991,445 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,039,935,000 after purchasing an additional 1,231,120 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ferguson by 944.4% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 3,537,155 shares of the company’s stock worth $613,944,000 after purchasing an additional 3,198,477 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ferguson by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,215,657 shares of the company’s stock valued at $557,082,000 after buying an additional 18,036 shares during the period. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in Ferguson by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,804,595 shares of the company’s stock valued at $486,814,000 after buying an additional 192,052 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ferguson Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:FERG opened at $160.03 on Tuesday. Ferguson plc has a twelve month low of $146.00 and a twelve month high of $225.63. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $166.24 and its 200-day moving average is $182.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.21, a PEG ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.17.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 during 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 quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.74 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ferguson plc will post 9.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 40.84%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on FERG. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $189.00 price target on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Ferguson in a research report on Monday, March 17th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Ferguson from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. Bank of America upgraded Ferguson from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $185.00 to $225.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Ferguson in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $204.00 price target on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.38.

Ferguson 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.