Duality Advisers LP Makes New Investment in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG)

Duality Advisers LP purchased a new position in Ferguson plc (NASDAQ:FERG) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 22,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,016,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in FERG. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in Ferguson by 80.1% during the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 32,811 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,166,000 after purchasing an additional 14,590 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in Ferguson by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 542,455 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,318,000 after acquiring an additional 29,396 shares during the period. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Ferguson by 20.8% in the 4th quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC now owns 60,406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,663,000 after acquiring an additional 10,406 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of Ferguson during the 4th quarter valued at about $732,000. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ferguson by 44.9% in the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,371,704 shares of the company’s stock worth $457,905,000 after purchasing an additional 735,270 shares during the last quarter. 81.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Ferguson from $217.00 to $211.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 5th. Barclays decreased their target price on Ferguson from $232.00 to $229.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ferguson presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $220.00.

Ferguson Trading Up 4.1 %

NASDAQ FERG traded up $8.01 on Friday, hitting $203.52. 1,285,145 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,137,588. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $203.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $203.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 0.94. Ferguson plc has a 52-week low of $147.62 and a 52-week high of $224.86. The company has a market capitalization of $41.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.11, a P/E/G ratio of 8.00 and a beta of 1.22.

Ferguson (NASDAQ:FERG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, June 4th. The company reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.27 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $7.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.32 billion. Ferguson had a return on equity of 36.89% and a net margin of 6.33%. Ferguson’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.20 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Ferguson plc will post 9.66 EPS for the current year.

Ferguson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 31st. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.79 per share. This represents a $3.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 14th. Ferguson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.54%.

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.