Atreides Management LP Trims Stock Position in Ferguson plc $FERG

Atreides Management LP cut its holdings in shares of Ferguson plc (NYSE:FERG) by 20.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 177,917 shares of the company’s stock after selling 44,707 shares during the quarter. Atreides Management LP’s holdings in Ferguson were worth $39,610,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raiffeisen Bank International AG lifted its position in Ferguson by 350,745.0% during the fourth quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 522,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,382,000 after buying an additional 522,610 shares during the period. Kinetic Partners Management LP increased its stake in Ferguson by 53.4% during the third quarter. Kinetic Partners Management LP now owns 349,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $78,378,000 after acquiring an additional 121,500 shares during the last quarter. Marsico Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ferguson during the fourth quarter worth about $11,017,000. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC increased its stake in Ferguson by 3.0% during the third quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC now owns 74,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,821,000 after acquiring an additional 2,208 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fieldview Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ferguson during the third quarter worth about $3,258,000. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on FERG. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Ferguson from $255.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Ferguson from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Weiss Ratings lowered Ferguson from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Ferguson from $271.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Ferguson in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.58.

Ferguson Price Performance

FERG stock opened at $230.14 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.78. Ferguson plc has a 1 year low of $207.64 and a 1 year high of $271.64. The firm has a market cap of $44.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $240.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $240.70.

Ferguson (NYSE:FERG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The company reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.14. Ferguson had a return on equity of 38.81% and a net margin of 6.98%.The business had revenue of $7.47 billion during the quarter. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.50 EPS. Ferguson’s quarterly revenue was up 3.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 11.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ferguson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a $0.89 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. This represents a $3.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 41.40%.

Ferguson declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 5th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Ferguson Company Profile

Ferguson (NYSE: FERG) is a multinational distributor specializing in plumbing and heating products and related building supplies, serving professional contractors, builders and industrial customers. The company supplies a broad range of products used in residential, commercial and infrastructure projects, including pipes and fittings, valves and controls, HVAC equipment, waterworks materials, plumbing fixtures, pumps and accessories, as well as complementary electrical and specialty product lines.

Ferguson operates a network of branches and distribution centers that provide inventory, logistics and value-added services to trade customers.